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Sample records for attenuation physics

  1. Physical Activity Attenuates the Influence of FTO Variants on Obesity Risk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Oskari Kilpeläinen, Tuomas; Qi, Lu; Brage, Soren

    2011-01-01

    Background The FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA) may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction. To confirm or refute......>0.8]) and PA were invited to participate, regardless of ethnicity or age of the participants. PA was standardized by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable (physically inactive versus active) in each study. Overall, 25% of adults and 13% of children were categorized as inactive. Interaction analyses were.......20–1.26), but PA attenuated this effect (pinteraction = 0.001). More specifically, the minor allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity less in the physically active group (odds ratio = 1.22/allele, 95% CI 1.19–1.25) than in the inactive group (odds ratio = 1.30/allele, 95% CI 1...

  2. Attenuation Model Using the Large-N Array from the Source Physics Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atterholt, J.; Chen, T.; Snelson, C. M.; Mellors, R. J.

    2017-12-01

    The Source Physics Experiment (SPE) consists of a series of chemical explosions at the Nevada National Security Site. SPE seeks to better characterize the influence of subsurface heterogeneities on seismic wave propagation and energy dissipation from explosions. As a part of this experiment, SPE-5, a 5000 kg TNT equivalent chemical explosion, was detonated in 2016. During the SPE-5 experiment, a Large-N array of 996 geophones (half 3-component and half z-component) was deployed. This array covered an area that includes loosely consolidated alluvium (weak rock) and weathered granite (hard rock), and recorded the SPE-5 explosion as well as 53 weight drops. We use these Large-N recordings to develop an attenuation model of the area to better characterize how geologic structures influence source energy partitioning. We found a clear variation in seismic attenuation for different rock types: high attenuation (low Q) for alluvium and low attenuation (high Q) for granite. The attenuation structure correlates well with local geology, and will be incorporated into the large simulation effort of the SPE program to validate predictive models. (LA-UR-17-26382)

  3. Physical Activity Attenuates Total and Cardiovascular Mortality Associated With Physical Disability: A National Cohort of Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez-Gomez, David; Guallar-Castillon, Pilar; Higueras-Fresnillo, Sara; Garcia-Esquinas, Esther; Lopez-Garcia, Esther; Bandinelli, Stefania; Rodríguez-Artalejo, Fernando

    2018-01-16

    Regular physical activity (PA) has been shown to protect against disability onset but, once the disability is present, it is unclear if PA might attenuate its harmful health consequences. Thus, we examined if mortality risk associated with physical disability can be offset by PA among older adults. We used data from a cohort of 3,752 individuals representative of the noninstitutionalized population aged 60 years and older in Spain. In 2000-2001, participants self-reported both PA levels (inactive, occasionally, monthly, weekly) and five physical disabilities (agility, mobility, global daily activities, instrumental activities of daily living, and self-care). Individuals were prospectively followed through 2014 to assess incident deaths. The mean follow-up was 10.8 years, with a total of 1,727 deaths, 638 of them due to cardiovascular disease (CVD). All disability types were associated with higher total and CVD mortality. Being physically active (ie, doing any PA) was associated with a statistically significant 26%-37% and 35%-50% lower risk of total and CVD death, respectively, across types of disability. As compared with those being physically active and without disability, those who were inactive and had a disability showed the highest mortality risk from total (hazard ratios from 1.52 to 1.90 across disabilities, all p disability. In older adults, PA could attenuate the increased risk of mortality associated with physical disability. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ekelund, Ulf; Steene-Johannessen, Jostein; Brown, Wendy J

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: High amounts of sedentary behaviour have been associated with increased risks of several chronic conditions and mortality. However, it is unclear whether physical activity attenuates or even eliminates the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting. We examined the associations of seden......BACKGROUND: High amounts of sedentary behaviour have been associated with increased risks of several chronic conditions and mortality. However, it is unclear whether physical activity attenuates or even eliminates the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting. We examined the associations...... of sedentary behaviour and physical activity with all-cause mortality. METHODS: We did a systematic review, searching six databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science, Sport Discus, and Scopus) from database inception until October, 2015, for prospective cohort studies that had individual level exposure...

  5. Physical and biogeochemical controls on light attenuation in a eutrophic, back-barrier estuary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganju, Neil K.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo L.

    2014-01-01

    Light attenuation is a critical parameter governing the ecological function of shallow estuaries. In these systems primary production is often dominated by benthic macroalgae and seagrass; thus light penetration to the bed is of primary importance. We quantified light attenuation in three seagrass meadows in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, a shallow eutrophic back-barrier estuary; two of the sites were located within designated Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs). We sequentially deployed instrumentation measuring photosynthetically active radiation, chlorophyll-a (chl-a) fluorescence, dissolved organic matter fluorescence (fDOM; a proxy for colored DOM absorbance), turbidity, pressure, and water velocity at 10 min intervals over three week periods at each site. At the southernmost site, where sediment availability was highest, light attenuation was highest and dominated by turbidity and to a lesser extent chl-a and CDOM. At the central site, chl-a dominated followed by turbidity and CDOM, and at the northernmost site turbidity and CDOM contributed equally to light attenuation. At a given site, the temporal variability of light attenuation exceeded the difference in median light attenuation at the three sites, indicating the need for continuous high-temporal resolution measurements. Vessel wakes, anecdotally implicated in increasing sediment resuspension, did not contribute to local resuspension within the seagrass beds, though frequent vessel wakes were observed in the channels. With regards to light attenuation and water clarity, physical and biogeochemical variables appear to outweigh any regulation of boat traffic within the ESAs.

  6. Study characteristics of new concrete mixes and their mechanical, physical, and gamma radiation attenuation features

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-Samrah, Moamen G.; Abdel-Rahman, Mohamed A.E. [Nuclear Engineering Department, Military Technical College Kobry El-kobbah, Cairo (Egypt); Kany, Amr M.I. [Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Cairo (Egypt)

    2018-02-01

    Ordinary concrete and those of different compositions are regarded as suitable material in many applications concerning with gamma and neutron radiation shielding purposes. They are widely used in nuclear power plant, medical facilities, nuclear shelters, and for radioactive materials transportation as well as storage of radioactive wastes. In this study four different concrete mixes were prepared with the following different types of coarse aggregates: dolomite, barite, goethite, and steel slag. The effect of changes in the fine aggregates, selected to be 50 % local sand and 50 % limonite with addition of 10 % silica fume (SF) and 10 % fly ash (FA) by replacement of the total cement weight, on the performance of the samples was also investigated. To examine the performance of such samples for radiation shielding applications, a set of physical, mechanical, and radiation attenuation properties was studied and compared with those of ordinary concrete. This investigation includes compressive strength, slump test, bulk density, ultrasonic pulse velocity test, and gamma rays attenuation measurements for the different samples. A verification of the experimental results concerning the radiation attenuation measurements was performed using WinXcom program (Version 3.1). The experimental results revealed that all concrete mixes; goethite-limonite concrete (G.L), barite-limonite concrete (B.L), steel slag-limonite concrete (S.L) and dolomite concrete (D.C) have good physical and mechanical properties that successfully satisfying them as high performance concretes. In addition the barite-limonite and the steel slag-limonite have the higher γ-ray attenuation coefficients at low and high energy range and hence have a better radiation shielding. The obtained results from WinXcom program calculations showed a good agreement with the experimental results concerning γ-ray attenuation measurements for the studied concrete mixes. (copyright 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGa

  7. Physical activity attenuates age-related biomarker alterations in preclinical AD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okonkwo, Ozioma C; Schultz, Stephanie A; Oh, Jennifer M; Larson, Jordan; Edwards, Dorothy; Cook, Dane; Koscik, Rebecca; Gallagher, Catherine L; Dowling, N M; Carlsson, Cynthia M; Bendlin, Barbara B; LaRue, Asenath; Rowley, Howard A; Christian, Brad T; Asthana, Sanjay; Hermann, Bruce P; Johnson, Sterling C; Sager, Mark A

    2014-11-04

    To examine whether engagement in physical activity might favorably alter the age-dependent evolution of Alzheimer disease (AD)-related brain and cognitive changes in a cohort of at-risk, late-middle-aged adults. Three hundred seventeen enrollees in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention underwent T1 MRI; a subset also underwent (11)C-Pittsburgh compound B-PET (n = 186) and (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET (n = 152) imaging. Participants' responses on a self-report measure of current physical activity were used to classify them as either physically active or physically inactive based on American Heart Association guidelines. They also completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Covariate-adjusted regression analyses were used to test whether the adverse effect of age on imaging and cognitive biomarkers was modified by physical activity. There were significant age × physical activity interactions for β-amyloid burden (p = 0.014), glucose metabolism (p = 0.015), and hippocampal volume (p = 0.025) such that, with advancing age, physically active individuals exhibited a lesser degree of biomarker alterations compared with the physically inactive. Similar age × physical activity interactions were also observed on cognitive domains of Immediate Memory (p = 0.042) and Visuospatial Ability (p = 0.016). In addition, the physically active group had higher scores on Speed and Flexibility (p = 0.002) compared with the inactive group. In a middle-aged, at-risk cohort, a physically active lifestyle is associated with an attenuation of the deleterious influence of age on key biomarkers of AD pathophysiology. However, because our observational, cross-sectional design cannot establish causality, randomized controlled trials/longitudinal studies will be necessary for determining whether midlife participation in structured physical exercise forestalls the development of AD and related disorders in later life. © 2014 American Academy of Neurology.

  8. Physical activity attenuates neuropsychiatric disturbances and caregiver burden in patients with dementia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gustavo Christofoletti

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: A significant benefit from physical activity has recently been described in some patients who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of physical activity on neuropsychiatric disturbances in demented patients and on the mental burden of their caregivers. METHODS: Assisted by a public geriatric psychiatry clinical unit, we studied 59 patients with dementia. Patients were divided into three groups according to their diagnosis and level of physical activity. Data were assessed through a semi-structured interview. Patients were evaluated with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, the Mini-Sleep Questionnaire and the Baecke Questionnaire. The data were statistically analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test and linear regression, with the level of significance set at 5%. RESULTS: Patients with Alzheimer's or vascular dementia who engaged in physical activity had fewer neuropsychiatric symptoms than those who did not. When compared to the control group, the caregivers of patients with vascular dementia who engaged in physical activity had a reduced burden. CONCLUSION: The regular practice of physical activity seems to contribute to a reduction in neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia patients and to attenuate the burden of the caregivers of those patients.

  9. Maternal low-protein diet-induced delayed reflex ontogeny is attenuated by moderate physical training during gestation in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falcão-Tebas, Filippe; Bento-Santos, Adriano; Fidalgo, Marco Antônio; de Almeida, Marcelus Brito; dos Santos, José Antônio; Lopes de Souza, Sandra; Manhães-de-Castro, Raul; Leandro, Carol Góis

    2012-02-01

    We evaluated the effects of moderate- to low-intensity physical training during gestation on reflex ontogeny in neonate rats whose mothers were undernourished. Virgin female Wistar rats were divided into four groups as follows: untrained (NT, n 7); trained (T, n 7); untrained with a low-protein diet (NT+LP, n 7); trained with a low-protein diet (T+LP, n 4). Trained rats were subjected to a protocol of moderate physical training on a treadmill over a period of 4 weeks (5 d/week and 60 min/d, at 65 % of VO₂max). After confirming the pregnancy, the intensity and duration of the exercise were reduced. Low-protein groups were provided with an 8 % casein diet, and controls were provided with a 17 % casein diet. Their respective offspring were evaluated (during the 10th-17th days of postnatal life) in terms of physical feature maturation, somatic growth and reflex ontogeny. Pups born to mothers provided with the low-protein diet during gestation and lactation showed delayed physical feature and reflex maturation and a deficit in somatic growth when compared with controls. However, most of these deficiencies were attenuated in pups of undernourished mothers undergoing training. In conclusion, physical training during gestation attenuates the effects of perinatal undernutrition on some patterns of maturation in the central nervous system during development.

  10. Does leisure-time physical activity attenuate or eliminate the positive association between obesity and high blood pressure?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Werneck, André O; Oyeyemi, Adewale L; Gerage, Aline M; Cyrino, Edilson S; Szwarcwald, Célia L; Sardinha, Luís B; Silva, Danilo R

    2018-04-25

    We examine the joint association of weight status and leisure-time physical activity on high blood pressure in a nationally representative sample of adults and older adults in Brazil. This was a national cross-sectional survey conducted in Brazil in 2013 (Brazilian Health Survey). The sample consisted of 59 402 participants (56% women, aged 18 to 100 years). Outcome was objectively assessed blood pressure. Body mass index (BMI) was objectively measured, while self-reported information on leisure-time physical activity, TV viewing, chronological age, race, educational status, tobacco smoking, sodium consumption, and hypertension medication was obtained using questionnaires. Logistic regression analysis with adjusted odds ratio was conducted to test the joint association of BMI and leisure-time physical activity categories on high blood pressure. Overall, compared to normal weight (NW) and physically active group, the NW/inactive (OR = 1.28; 1.04 to 1.58), overweight/active (OR = 1.38; 1.08 to 1.78), overweight/inactive (OR = 1.89; 1.53 to 2.33), obese/active (OR = 2.19; 1.59 to 3.01) and obese/inactive (OR = 2.54; 2.05 to 3.15) groups were 28% to 254% more likely to have high blood pressure. The attenuation and high blood pressure was greater for women and adults than for men and older adults. Thus, leisure-time physical inactivity and being overweight and obesity were associated with high blood pressure in Brazilian population. Engaging in sufficient level of physical activity during leisure could attenuate, but not eliminate, the negative influence of obesity on high blood pressure in Brazilian adults and older adults. ©2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: a meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tuomas O Kilpeläinen

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction. To confirm or refute unambiguously whether PA attenuates the association of FTO with obesity risk, we meta-analyzed data from 45 studies of adults (n = 218,166 and nine studies of children and adolescents (n = 19,268.All studies identified to have data on the FTO rs9939609 variant (or any proxy [r(2>0.8] and PA were invited to participate, regardless of ethnicity or age of the participants. PA was standardized by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable (physically inactive versus active in each study. Overall, 25% of adults and 13% of children were categorized as inactive. Interaction analyses were performed within each study by including the FTO×PA interaction term in an additive model, adjusting for age and sex. Subsequently, random effects meta-analysis was used to pool the interaction terms. In adults, the minor (A- allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity by 1.23-fold/allele (95% CI 1.20-1.26, but PA attenuated this effect (p(interaction  = 0.001. More specifically, the minor allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity less in the physically active group (odds ratio  = 1.22/allele, 95% CI 1.19-1.25 than in the inactive group (odds ratio  = 1.30/allele, 95% CI 1.24-1.36. No such interaction was found in children and adolescents.The association of the FTO risk allele with the odds of obesity is attenuated by 27% in physically active adults, highlighting the importance of PA in particular in those genetically predisposed to obesity.

  12. Effects of Mental Fatigue on Physical Endurance Performance and Muscle Activation Are Attenuated by Monetary Incentives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Denver M Y; Bray, Steven R

    2017-12-01

    Physical performance is impaired following cognitive control exertion. Incentives can ameliorate adverse carryover effects of cognitive control exertion but have not been investigated for physical endurance. This study examined the effect of monetary incentives on physical performance and muscle activation following exposure to a mentally fatiguing, cognitive control task. Participants (N = 82) performed two isometric endurance handgrip trials separated by a 12-min cognitive control manipulation using a 2 (high cognitive control [HCC]/low cognitive control [LCC]) × 2 (incentive/no incentive) design. Mental fatigue was significantly higher in the HCC conditions. Performance decreased in the HCC/no incentive condition but was unaffected in the HCC/incentive condition, which did not differ from the low cognitive control conditions. Electromyography data revealed increased muscle activation in the HCC/no incentive condition, which was also attenuated in the HCC/incentive condition. Findings show that incentives counteract the negative effects of HCC on physical endurance and alter central drive to motor units.

  13. Ultrasonic attenuation in rare-earth monoarsenides

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2015-11-27

    Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics; Volume 86; Issue 6. Ultrasonic attenuation in rare-earth monoarsenides .... Proceedings of the International Workshop/Conference on Computational Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science (IWCCMP-2015). Posted on November 27, 2015. Guest Editors: Anurag ...

  14. Attenuation of Morphine Physical Dependence and Blood Levels of Cortisol by Central and Systemic Administration of Ramelteon in Rat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Motaghinejad

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Chronic administration of morphine cause physical dependence but the exact mechanism of this phenomenon remains unclear. The aim of this study is the assessment of systemic and intracerebroventricular (icv administration of ramelteon (a melatonin receptor agonist on morphine physical dependence. Methods: 88 adult male rats were divided into 2 major groups, namely “systematic” and “central” administration of ramelteon. In the first category, systemic administration of ramelteon at various dosages (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg was assessed on dependent animals and withdrawal signs were compared with positive (received morphine and saline as systemic administration, negative control (saline and group under treatment by ramelteon (40 mg/kg groups. In the second category, central administration of ramelteon at various dosages (25, 50, or 100 μg, was assessed on dependent animals and withdrawal signs were compared with the positive control (received morphine and saline as icv and negative control (saline groups, and the group under treatment by ramelteon (50 μg/5 μl/rat. On the test day, all animals received naloxone (3 mg/kg and were observed for withdrawal signs. Total withdrawal score (TWS was also determined. Finally, to evaluate the stress level of dependent rats, blood cortisols were measured. Results: Central administration of ramelteon in all doses and systemic administration in high doses attenuate withdrawal syndrome in comparison with the dependent positive control group (P<0.05. Both central and systemic administrations of ramelteon can attenuate the blood cortisol level in comparison with the dependent positive control group (P<0.05. Conclusion: In conclusion, we found that central administration of ramelteon attenuated morphine withdrawal symptoms and cortisol level as a stress marker.

  15. Physical exercise prevents short and long-term deficits on aversive and recognition memory and attenuates brain oxidative damage induced by maternal deprivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neves, Ben-Hur; Menezes, Jefferson; Souza, Mauren Assis; Mello-Carpes, Pâmela B

    2015-12-01

    It is known from previous research that physical exercise prevents long-term memory deficits induced by maternal deprivation in rats. But we could not assume similar effects of physical exercise on short-term memory, as short- and long-term memories are known to result from some different memory consolidation processes. Here we demonstrated that, in addition to long-term memory deficit, the short-term memory deficit resultant from maternal deprivation in object recognition and aversive memory tasks is also prevented by physical exercise. Additionally, one of the mechanisms by which the physical exercise influences the memory processes involves its effects attenuating the oxidative damage in the maternal deprived rats' hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

  16. Nature cures nature: Hypericum perforatum attenuates physical withdrawal signs in opium dependent rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Munasib; Subhan, Fazal; Khan, Arif-Ullah; Abbas, Muzaffar; Ali, Gowhar; Rauf, Khalid; Gilani, Anwarul Hassan

    2014-05-01

    Hypericum perforatum Linn. (Hypericaceae) (St. John's wort) attenuates opium withdrawal signs. To explore the therapeutic potential of Hypericum perforatum in the management of opium-induced withdrawal syndrome. The effect of the Hypericum perforatum hydro-ethanol extract was investigated for potential to reverse naloxone (0.25 mg/kg)-induced opium withdrawal physical signs. Rats received opium extract (80-650 mg/kg) twice daily for 8 days along with Hypericum perforatum (20 mg/kg, orally) twice daily in chronic treatment and the same single dose 1 h before induction of withdrawal syndrome in the acute treated group. Hypericum perforatum reduced stereotype jumps and wet dog shake number in the chronic treatment compared to the saline control group (F(2, 24) = 3.968, p opium withdrawal syndrome possibly through direct or indirect interaction with opioid receptors. Further study is needed to clarify its mechanism.

  17. Dexmedetomidine in premedication to attenuate the acute ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: The choice of anaesthetic agent for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) depends on seizure duration, haemodynamic ... and infarction. To attenuate this acute ... scheduled for ECT, physical status ASA I and II, age between 18 and.

  18. Quantitative SPECT brain imaging: Effects of attenuation and detector response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilland, D.R.; Jaszczak, R.J.; Bowsher, J.E.; Turkington, T.G.; Liang, Z.; Greer, K.L.; Coleman, R.E.

    1993-01-01

    Two physical factors that substantially degrade quantitative accuracy in SPECT imaging of the brain are attenuation and detector response. In addition to the physical factors, random noise in the reconstructed image can greatly affect the quantitative measurement. The purpose of this work was to implement two reconstruction methods that compensate for attenuation and detector response, a 3D maximum likelihood-EM method (ML) and a filtered backprojection method (FB) with Metz filter and Chang attenuation compensation, and compare the methods in terms of quantitative accuracy and image noise. The methods were tested on simulated data of the 3D Hoffman brain phantom. The simulation incorporated attenuation and distance-dependent detector response. Bias and standard deviation of reconstructed voxel intensities were measured in the gray and white matter regions. The results with ML showed that in both the gray and white matter regions as the number of iterations increased, bias decreased and standard deviation increased. Similar results were observed with FB as the Metz filter power increased. In both regions, ML had smaller standard deviation than FB for a given bias. Reconstruction times for the ML method have been greatly reduced through efficient coding, limited source support, and by computing attenuation factors only along rays perpendicular to the detector

  19. SEISMIC ATTENUATION FOR RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joel Walls; M.T. Taner; Gary Mavko; Jack Dvorkin

    2002-01-01

    In Section 1 of this first report we will describe the work we are doing to collect and analyze rock physics data for the purpose of modeling seismic attenuation from other measurable quantities such as porosity, water saturation, clay content and net stress. This work and other empirical methods to be presented later, will form the basis for ''Q pseudo-well modeling'' that is a key part of this project. In Section 2 of this report, we will show the fundamentals of a new method to extract Q, dispersion, and attenuation from field seismic data. The method is called Gabor-Morlet time-frequency decomposition. This technique has a number of advantages including greater stability and better time resolution than spectral ratio methods.

  20. The LCLS Gas Attenuator Revisited

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryutov, D

    2005-01-01

    In the report ''X-ray attenuation cell'' [1] a preliminary analysis of the gas attenuator for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) was presented. This analysis was carried out for extremely stringent set of specifications. In particular, a very large diameter for the unobstructed beam was set (1 cm) to accommodate the spontaneous radiation; the attenuator was supposed to cover the whole range of energies of the coherent radiation, from 800 eV to 8000 eV; the maximum attenuation was set at the level of 10 4 ; the use of solid attenuators was not allowed, as well as the use of rotating shutters. The need to reach a sufficient absorption at the high-energy end of the spectrum predetermined the choice of Xe as the working gas (in order to have a reasonable absorption at a not-too-high pressure). A sophisticated differential pumping system that included a Penning-type ion pump was suggested in order to minimize the gas leak into the undulator/accelerator part of the facility. A high cost of xenon meant also that an efficient (and expensive) gas-recovery system would have to be installed. The main parameter that determined the high cost and the complexity of the system was a large radius of the orifice. The present viewpoint allows for much smaller size of the orifice, r 0 = 1.5 mm. (1) The use of solid attenuators is also allowed (R.M. Bionta, private communication). It is, therefore, worthwhile to reconsider various parameters of the gas attenuator for these much less stringent conditions. This brief study should be considered as a physics input for the engineering design. As a working gas we consider now the argon, which, on the one hand, provides a reasonable absorption lengths and, on the other hand, is inexpensive enough to be exhausted into the atmosphere (no recovery). The absorption properties of argon are illustrated by Fig.1 where the attenuation factor A is shown for various beam energies, based on Ref. [2]. The other relevant parameters for argon are

  1. An Analytical-empirical Calculation of Linear Attenuation Coefficient of Megavoltage Photon Beams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seif, F; Tahmasebi-Birgani, M J; Bayatiani, M R

    2017-09-01

    In this study, a method for linear attenuation coefficient calculation was introduced. Linear attenuation coefficient was calculated with a new method that base on the physics of interaction of photon with matter, mathematical calculation and x-ray spectrum consideration. The calculation was done for Cerrobend as a common radiotherapy modifier and Mercury. The values of calculated linear attenuation coefficient with this new method are in acceptable range. Also, the linear attenuation coefficient decreases slightly as the thickness of attenuating filter (Cerrobend or mercury) increased, so the procedure of linear attenuation coefficient variation is in agreement with other documents. The results showed that the attenuation ability of mercury was about 1.44 times more than Cerrobend. The method that was introduced in this study for linear attenuation coefficient calculation is general enough to treat beam modifiers with any shape or material by using the same formalism; however, calculating was made only for mercury and Cerrobend attenuator. On the other hand, it seems that this method is suitable for high energy shields or protector designing.

  2. Perturbed effects at radiation physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Külahcı, Fatih; Şen, Zekâi

    2013-01-01

    Perturbation methodology is applied in order to assess the linear attenuation coefficient, mass attenuation coefficient and cross-section behavior with random components in the basic variables such as the radiation amounts frequently used in the radiation physics and chemistry. Additionally, layer attenuation coefficient (LAC) and perturbed LAC (PLAC) are proposed for different contact materials. Perturbation methodology provides opportunity to obtain results with random deviations from the average behavior of each variable that enters the whole mathematical expression. The basic photon intensity variation expression as the inverse exponential power law (as Beer–Lambert's law) is adopted for perturbation method exposition. Perturbed results are presented not only in terms of the mean but additionally the standard deviation and the correlation coefficients. Such perturbation expressions provide one to assess small random variability in basic variables. - Highlights: • Perturbation methodology is applied to Radiation Physics. • Layer attenuation coefficient (LAC) and perturbed LAC are proposed for contact materials. • Perturbed linear attenuation coefficient is proposed. • Perturbed mass attenuation coefficient (PMAC) is proposed. • Perturbed cross-section is proposed

  3. Macroseismic intensity attenuation in Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaghmaei-Sabegh, Saman

    2018-01-01

    Macroseismic intensity data plays an important role in the process of seismic hazard analysis as well in developing of reliable earthquake loss models. This paper presents a physical-based model to predict macroseismic intensity attenuation based on 560 intensity data obtained in Iran in the time period 1975-2013. The geometric spreading and energy absorption of seismic waves have been considered in the proposed model. The proposed easy to implement relation describes the intensity simply as a function of moment magnitude, source to site distance and focal depth. The prediction capability of the proposed model is assessed by means of residuals analysis. Prediction results have been compared with those of other intensity prediction models for Italy, Turkey, Iran and central Asia. The results indicate the higher attenuation rate for the study area in distances less than 70km.

  4. Physical exercise improves functional recovery through mitigation of autophagy, attenuation of apoptosis and enhancement of neurogenesis after MCAO in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Liying; Hu, Xiquan; Luo, Jing; Li, Lili; Chen, Xingyong; Huang, Ruxun; Pei, Zhong

    2013-04-08

    Physical exercise improves functional recovery after stroke through a complex mechanism that is not fully understood. Transient focal cerebral ischemia induces autophagy, apoptosis and neurogenesis in the peri-infarct region. This study is aimed to examine the effects of physical exercise on autophagy, apoptosis and neurogenesis in the peri-infarct region in a rat model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). We found that autophagosomes, as labeled by microtubule-associated protein 1A light chain 3-II (LC3-II), were evident in the peri-infarct region at 3 days after 90-minute MCAO. Moreover, 44.6% of LC3-positive cells were also stained with TUNEL. The number of LC3 positive cells was significantly lower in physical exercise group than in control group at 14 and 21 days after MCAO. Suppression of autophagosomes by physical exercise was positively associated with improvement of neurological function. In addition, physical exercise significantly decreased the number of TUNEL-positive cells and increased the numbers of Ki67-positive, a proliferative marker, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) positive cells at 7, 14, and 21 days after MCAO. The present results demonstrate that physical exercise enhances neurological function possibly by reduction of autophagosome accumulation, attenuation of apoptosis and enhancement of neurogenesis in the peri-infarct region after transient MCAO in rats.

  5. Regular physical activity attenuates the blood pressure response to public speaking and delays the development of hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palatini, Paolo; Bratti, Paolo; Palomba, Daniela; Saladini, Francesca; Zanatta, Nello; Maraglino, Giuseppe

    2010-06-01

    The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of regular physical activity on the haemodynamic response to public speaking and to evaluate the long-term effect of exercise on development of hypertension. We assessed 75 sedentary and 44 active participants screened for stage 1 hypertension with consistent activity habits and 63 normotensive individuals as control. The blood pressure (BP) response to public speaking was assessed with beat-to-beat noninvasive recording. Definition of incident hypertension was based either on clinic or 24-h BP measurement. The BP response to public speaking was greater in the hypertensive than the normotensive participants (P=0.018/0.009). Among the former, sedentary participants showed increased BP reactivity to the speech test (45.2+/-22.6/22.2+/-11.5mmHg, Ppublic speaking into the Cox model influenced the strength of the association only marginally [hazard ratio=0.55 (95% CI 0.30-0.97) and hazard ratio=0.59 (95% CI 0.36-0.99), respectively]. Regular physical activity attenuates the BP reaction to psychosocial stressors. However, this mechanism seems to be only partially responsible for the long-term effect of exercise on BP.

  6. Effects of attenuation map accuracy on attenuation-corrected micro-SPECT images

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wu, C.; Gratama van Andel, H.A.; Laverman, P.; Boerman, O.C.; Beekman, F.J.

    2013-01-01

    Background In single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), attenuation of photon flux in tissue affects quantitative accuracy of reconstructed images. Attenuation maps derived from X-ray computed tomography (CT) can be employed for attenuation correction. The attenuation coefficients as well

  7. Long-Term Low Intensity Physical Exercise Attenuates Heart Failure Development in Aging Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luana U. Pagan

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Physical exercise is a strategy to control hypertension and attenuate pressure overload-induced cardiac remodeling. The influence of exercise on cardiac remodeling during uncontrolled hypertension is not established. We evaluated the effects of a long-term low intensity aerobic exercise protocol on heart failure (HF development and cardiac remodeling in aging spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR. Methods: Sixteen month old SHR (n=50 and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY, n=35 rats were divided into sedentary (SED and exercised (EX groups. Rats exercised in treadmill at 12 m/min, 30 min/day, 5 days/week, for four months. The frequency of HF features was evaluated at euthanasia. Statistical analyses: ANOVA and Tukey or Mann-Whitney, and Goodman test. Results: Despite slightly higher systolic blood pressure, SHR-EX had better functional capacity and lower HF frequency than SHR-SED. Echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging showed no differences between SHR groups. In SHR-EX, however, left ventricular (LV systolic diameter, larger in SHR-SED than WKY-SED, and endocardial fractional shortening, lower in SHR-SED than WKY-SED, had values between those in WKY-EX and SHR-SED not differing from either group. Myocardial function, assessed in LV papillary muscles, showed improvement in SHR-EX over SHR-SED and WKY-EX. LV myocardial collagen fraction and type I and III collagen gene expression were increased in SHR groups. Myocardial hydroxyproline concentration was lower in SHR-EX than SHR-SED. Lysyl oxidase gene expression was higher in SHR-SED than WKY-SED. Conclusion: Exercise improves functional capacity and reduces decompensated HF in aging SHR independent of elevated arterial pressure. Improvement in functional status is combined with attenuation of LV and myocardial dysfunction and fibrosis.

  8. Scatter and attenuation correction in SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ljungberg, Michael

    2004-01-01

    The adsorbed dose is related to the activity uptake in the organ and its temporal distribution. Measured count rate with scintillation cameras is related to activity through the system sensitivity, cps/MBq. By accounting for physical processes and imaging limitations we can measure the activity at different time points. Correction for physical factor, such as attenuation and scatter is required for accurate quantitation. Both planar and SPECT imaging can be used to estimate activities for radiopharmaceutical dosimetry. Planar methods have been the most widely used but is a 2D technique. With accurate modelling for imagine in iterative reconstruction, SPECT methods will prove to be more accurate

  9. Monitored Natural Attenuation of ino9rganic Contaminants Treatability Study Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Crapse, K

    2004-05-19

    The identification and quantification of key natural attenuation processes for inorganic contaminants at D-Area is detailed herein. Two overarching goals of this evaluation of monitored natural attenuation (MNA) as a remediation strategy were (1) to better define the availability of inorganic contaminants as potential sources for transport to groundwater and uptake by environmental receptors and (2) to understand the site-specific mechanisms controlling attenuation of these inorganic contaminants through tandem geochemical and biological characterization. Data collected in this study provides input for more appropriate site groundwater transport models. Significant natural attenuation is occurring at D-Area as evidenced by relatively low aqueous concentrations of constituents of concern (COCs) (Be, Ni, U, and As) at all locations characterized and the decrease in groundwater concentrations with increasing distance from the source. The observed magnitude of decrease in groundwater concentrations of COCs with distance from the D-Area Coal Pile Runoff Basin (DCPRB) could not be accounted for by the modeled physical attenuation processes of dilution/dispersion. This additional attenuation, i.e., the observed difference between the groundwater concentrations of COCs and the modeled physical attenuation, is due to biogeochemical processes occurring at the D-Area. In tandem geochemical and microbiological characterization studies designed to evaluate the mechanisms contributing to natural attenuation, pH was the single parameter found to be most predictive of contaminant attenuation. The increasing pH with distance from the source is likely responsible for increased sorption of COCs to soil surfaces within the aquifer at D-Area. Importantly, because the sediments appear to have a high buffering capacity, the acid emanating from the DCPRB has been neutralized by the soil, and these conditions have led to large Kd values at the site. Two major types of soils are present at

  10. Implication of seismic attenuation for gas hydrate resource characterization, Mallik, Mackenzie Delta, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellefleur, G.; Riedel, M.; Brent, T.; Wright, F.; Dallimore, S. R.

    2007-10-01

    Wave attenuation is an important physical property of hydrate-bearing sediments that is rarely taken into account in site characterization with seismic data. We present a field example showing improved images of hydrate-bearing sediments on seismic data after compensation of attenuation effects. Compressional quality factors estimated from zero-offset Vertical Seismic Profiling data acquired at Mallik, Northwest Territories, Canada, demonstrate significant wave attenuation for hydrate-bearing sediments. These results are in agreement with previous attenuation estimates obtained from sonic logs and crosshole data at different frequency intervals. The application of an inverse Q-filter to compensate attenuation effects of permafrost and hydrate-bearing sediments improved the resolution of surface 3D seismic data and its correlation with log data, particularly for the shallowest gas hydrate interval. Compensation of the attenuation effects of the permafrost likely explains most of the improvements for the shallow gas hydrate zone. Our results show that characterization of the Mallik gas hydrates with seismic data not corrected for attenuation would tend to overestimate thicknesses and lateral extent of hydrate-bearing strata and hence, the volume of hydrates in place.

  11. Ultrasonic attenuation in the superconducting and intermediate states of pure and doped type I superconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaudhuri, K.D.; Singh, R.

    1982-01-01

    The attenuation of longitudinal ultrasonic waves has been measured in single crystals of indium (99.999%), indium doped with 0.003 at % of tin, and indium doped with 0.002 at % of bismuth in the intermediate and superconducting states over the frequency range 10--30 MHz. For the bismuth-doped indium specimen, measurements were taken for three different physical states, i.e., for three different dislocation densities, and for the indium and the tin-doped indium specimens, measurements were for one-physical state. For a particular measurement, the same physical state was maintained both in the intermediate and superconducting states. A temperature-dependent oscillatory behavior of the ultrasonic attenuation was observed in the intermediate state in all the three specimens, but in the superconducting state the oscillatory behavior was observed only in the bismuth-doped specimen. Two phases have been identified in the superconducting layers of the intermediate state and there is only one phase in the superconducting state of the bismuth-doped sample. The origin of the two phases in the intermediate state and that of the single phase in the superconducting state of the bismuth-doped sample are discussed. A qualitative explanation is presented for the occurrence of oscillatory attenuation in the intermediate state irrespective of the nature of the dopant and the selective occurrence of oscillatory attenuation in the superconducting state due to the nature of the dopant

  12. Leisure-Time Physical Activity Does not Attenuate the Association Between Occupational Sedentary Behavior and Obesity: Results From Alberta's Tomorrow Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholas, Joshua A; Lo Siou, Geraldine; Lynch, Brigid M; Robson, Paula J; Friedenreich, Christine M; Csizmadi, Ilona

    2015-12-01

    Sedentary behavior has been proposed as a risk factor for obesity that is distinct from physical inactivity. This study aimed to examine the association between occupational sedentary behavior and obesity, and to determine if this association is independent of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). Fully employed participants enrolled between 2001 and 2008 to Alberta's Tomorrow Project, a prospective cohort study in Alberta, Canada, were studied (n = 12,409). Associations between occupational sedentary behavior and waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and body mass index (BMI) were examined using multiple binary and multinomial logistic regressions. In men, a positive association was observed between daily occupational sedentary hours and WC, WHR, BMI, and with high risk profiles that incorporated both BMI and WC (P < .01). Controlling for vigorous-intensity LTPA in all models strengthened associations between sedentary behavior and measures of obesity. In contrast, inverse associations were observed for occupational sedentary hours and WHR for women (P < .05). In fully employed men, occupational sedentary behavior was positively associated with obesity risk that was not attenuated by physical activity. In women, an increase in obesity risk was not observed with sedentary behavior. Gender differences in the health effects of sedentary behavior require further study.

  13. Physical activity attenuates the mid-adolescent peak in insulin resistance but by late adolescence the effect is lost: a longitudinal study with annual measures from 9-16 years (EarlyBird 66).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metcalf, Brad S; Hosking, Joanne; Henley, William E; Jeffery, Alison N; Mostazir, Mohammod; Voss, Linda D; Wilkin, Terence J

    2015-12-01

    The aim of this work was to test whether the mid-adolescent peak in insulin resistance (IR) and trends in other metabolic markers are influenced by long-term exposure to physical activity. Physical activity (7 day ActiGraph accelerometry), HOMA-IR and other metabolic markers (glucose, fasting insulin, HbA1c, lipids and BP) were measured annually from age 9 years to 16 years in 300 children (151 boys) from the EarlyBird study in Plymouth, UK. The activity level of each child was characterised, with 95% reliability, by averaging their eight annual physical activity measures. Age-related trends in IR and metabolic health were analysed by multi-level modelling, with physical activity as the exposure measure (categorical and continuous) and body fat percentage (assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) and pubertal status (according to age at peak height velocity and Tanner stage) as covariates. The peak in IR at age 12-13 years was 17% lower (p adolescents independently of body fat percentage and pubertal status. However, this difference diminished progressively over the next 3 years and had disappeared completely by the age of 16 years (e.g. difference was -14% at 14 years, -8% at 15 years and +1% at 16 years; 'physical activity × age(2), interaction, p adolescence in the more active group. Our finding that physical activity attenuates IR during mid-adolescence may be clinically important. It remains to be established whether the temporary attenuation in IR during this period has implications for the development of diabetes in adolescence and for future metabolic health generally.

  14. Modified polarized geometrical attenuation model for bidirectional reflection distribution function based on random surface microfacet theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hong; Zhu, Jingping; Wang, Kai

    2015-08-24

    The geometrical attenuation model given by Blinn was widely used in the geometrical optics bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) models. Blinn's geometrical attenuation model based on symmetrical V-groove assumption and ray scalar theory causes obvious inaccuracies in BRDF curves and negatives the effects of polarization. Aiming at these questions, a modified polarized geometrical attenuation model based on random surface microfacet theory is presented by combining of masking and shadowing effects and polarized effect. The p-polarized, s-polarized and unpolarized geometrical attenuation functions are given in their separate expressions and are validated with experimental data of two samples. It shows that the modified polarized geometrical attenuation function reaches better physical rationality, improves the precision of BRDF model, and widens the applications for different polarization.

  15. Seismic attenuation and scattering tomography of rock samples using stochastic wavefields: linking seismology, volcanology, and rock physics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazio, Marco; De Siena, Luca; Benson, Phillip

    2016-04-01

    Seismic attenuation and scattering are two attributes that can be linked with porosity and permeability in laboratory experiments. When measuring these two quantities using seismic waveforms recorder at lithospheric and volcanic scales the areas of highest heterogeneity, as batches of melt and zones of high deformation, produce anomalous values of the measured quantities, the seismic quality factor and scattering coefficient. When employed as indicators of heterogeneity and absorption in volcanic areas these anomalous effects become strong indicators of magma accumulation and tectonic boundaries, shaping magmatic chambers and conduit systems. We perform attenuation and scattering measurements and imaging using seismic waveforms produced in laboratory experiments, at frequencies ranging between the kHz and MHz. As attenuation and scattering are measured from the shape of the envelopes, disregarding phases, we are able to connect the observations with the micro fracturing and petrological quantities previously measured on the sample. Connecting the imaging of dry and saturated samples via these novel attributes with the burst of low-period events with increasing saturation and deformation is a challenge. Its solution could plant the seed for better relating attenuation and scattering tomography measurements to the presence of fluids and gas, therefore creating a novel path for reliable porosity and permeability tomography. In particular for volcanoes, being able to relate attenuation/scattering measurements with low-period micro seismicity could deliver new data to settle the debate about if both source and medium can produce seismic resonance.

  16. Physical activity does not attenuate the obesity risk of TV viewing in youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rey-López, J P; Ruiz, J R; Vicente-Rodríguez, G; Gracia-Marco, L; Manios, Y; Sjöström, M; De Bourdeaudhuij, I; Moreno, L A

    2012-06-01

    This study aimed to examine the association of television (TV) time, the frequency of meals while watching TV and the presence of TV set in the bedroom with total and abdominal obesity and to assess whether physical activity (PA) attenuates the obesity risk of TV viewing. Cross-sectional data were obtained from 2200 adolescents (46% boys) from 10 European cities, The Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence study, between 2006 and 2007. TV viewing, PA (by accelerometry) and body composition were measured. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Even adjusting by vigorous PA, TV in the bedroom (odds ratio [OR]: 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.74) and >4 h d(-1) TV during week days (OR: 1.30, 95% CI, 1.02-1.67) (in boys) and eating every day with TV (OR: 1.18, 95% CI, 1.07-1.30) and >2 h d(-1) TV during weekend days (OR: 1.68, 95% CI, 1.25-2.26) (in girls) were significantly associated with total obesity. Likewise, in both sexes, having a TV set at bedroom was significantly associated with abdominal obesity. Adolescents spending excessive TV time are prone to obesity independently of their PA levels. Families should put TV sets out of adolescents' bedroom and keep TV sets off during meal times. © 2012 The Authors. Pediatric Obesity © 2012 International Association for the Study of Obesity.

  17. Control algorithms for dynamic attenuators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hsieh, Scott S., E-mail: sshsieh@stanford.edu [Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 and Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Pelc, Norbert J. [Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford California 94305 and Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States)

    2014-06-15

    Purpose: The authors describe algorithms to control dynamic attenuators in CT and compare their performance using simulated scans. Dynamic attenuators are prepatient beam shaping filters that modulate the distribution of x-ray fluence incident on the patient on a view-by-view basis. These attenuators can reduce dose while improving key image quality metrics such as peak or mean variance. In each view, the attenuator presents several degrees of freedom which may be individually adjusted. The total number of degrees of freedom across all views is very large, making many optimization techniques impractical. The authors develop a theory for optimally controlling these attenuators. Special attention is paid to a theoretically perfect attenuator which controls the fluence for each ray individually, but the authors also investigate and compare three other, practical attenuator designs which have been previously proposed: the piecewise-linear attenuator, the translating attenuator, and the double wedge attenuator. Methods: The authors pose and solve the optimization problems of minimizing the mean and peak variance subject to a fixed dose limit. For a perfect attenuator and mean variance minimization, this problem can be solved in simple, closed form. For other attenuator designs, the problem can be decomposed into separate problems for each view to greatly reduce the computational complexity. Peak variance minimization can be approximately solved using iterated, weighted mean variance (WMV) minimization. Also, the authors develop heuristics for the perfect and piecewise-linear attenuators which do not requirea priori knowledge of the patient anatomy. The authors compare these control algorithms on different types of dynamic attenuators using simulated raw data from forward projected DICOM files of a thorax and an abdomen. Results: The translating and double wedge attenuators reduce dose by an average of 30% relative to current techniques (bowtie filter with tube current

  18. Control algorithms for dynamic attenuators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsieh, Scott S.; Pelc, Norbert J.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The authors describe algorithms to control dynamic attenuators in CT and compare their performance using simulated scans. Dynamic attenuators are prepatient beam shaping filters that modulate the distribution of x-ray fluence incident on the patient on a view-by-view basis. These attenuators can reduce dose while improving key image quality metrics such as peak or mean variance. In each view, the attenuator presents several degrees of freedom which may be individually adjusted. The total number of degrees of freedom across all views is very large, making many optimization techniques impractical. The authors develop a theory for optimally controlling these attenuators. Special attention is paid to a theoretically perfect attenuator which controls the fluence for each ray individually, but the authors also investigate and compare three other, practical attenuator designs which have been previously proposed: the piecewise-linear attenuator, the translating attenuator, and the double wedge attenuator. Methods: The authors pose and solve the optimization problems of minimizing the mean and peak variance subject to a fixed dose limit. For a perfect attenuator and mean variance minimization, this problem can be solved in simple, closed form. For other attenuator designs, the problem can be decomposed into separate problems for each view to greatly reduce the computational complexity. Peak variance minimization can be approximately solved using iterated, weighted mean variance (WMV) minimization. Also, the authors develop heuristics for the perfect and piecewise-linear attenuators which do not requirea priori knowledge of the patient anatomy. The authors compare these control algorithms on different types of dynamic attenuators using simulated raw data from forward projected DICOM files of a thorax and an abdomen. Results: The translating and double wedge attenuators reduce dose by an average of 30% relative to current techniques (bowtie filter with tube current

  19. Control algorithms for dynamic attenuators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Scott S; Pelc, Norbert J

    2014-06-01

    The authors describe algorithms to control dynamic attenuators in CT and compare their performance using simulated scans. Dynamic attenuators are prepatient beam shaping filters that modulate the distribution of x-ray fluence incident on the patient on a view-by-view basis. These attenuators can reduce dose while improving key image quality metrics such as peak or mean variance. In each view, the attenuator presents several degrees of freedom which may be individually adjusted. The total number of degrees of freedom across all views is very large, making many optimization techniques impractical. The authors develop a theory for optimally controlling these attenuators. Special attention is paid to a theoretically perfect attenuator which controls the fluence for each ray individually, but the authors also investigate and compare three other, practical attenuator designs which have been previously proposed: the piecewise-linear attenuator, the translating attenuator, and the double wedge attenuator. The authors pose and solve the optimization problems of minimizing the mean and peak variance subject to a fixed dose limit. For a perfect attenuator and mean variance minimization, this problem can be solved in simple, closed form. For other attenuator designs, the problem can be decomposed into separate problems for each view to greatly reduce the computational complexity. Peak variance minimization can be approximately solved using iterated, weighted mean variance (WMV) minimization. Also, the authors develop heuristics for the perfect and piecewise-linear attenuators which do not require a priori knowledge of the patient anatomy. The authors compare these control algorithms on different types of dynamic attenuators using simulated raw data from forward projected DICOM files of a thorax and an abdomen. The translating and double wedge attenuators reduce dose by an average of 30% relative to current techniques (bowtie filter with tube current modulation) without

  20. Patient position alters attenuation effects in multipinhole cardiac SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timmins, Rachel; Ruddy, Terrence D.; Wells, R. Glenn

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: Dedicated cardiac cameras offer improved sensitivity over conventional SPECT cameras. Sensitivity gains are obtained by large numbers of detectors and novel collimator arrangements such as an array of multiple pinholes that focus on the heart. Pinholes lead to variable amounts of attenuation as a source is moved within the camera field of view. This study evaluated the effects of this variable attenuation on myocardial SPECT images. Methods: Computer simulations were performed for a set of nine point sources distributed in the left ventricular wall (LV). Sources were placed at the location of the heart in both an anthropomorphic and a water-cylinder computer phantom. Sources were translated in x, y, and z by up to 5 cm from the center. Projections were simulated with and without attenuation and the changes in attenuation were compared. A LV with an inferior wall defect was also simulated in both phantoms over the same range of positions. Real camera data were acquired on a Discovery NM530c camera (GE Healthcare, Haifa, Israel) for five min in list-mode using an anthropomorphic phantom (DataSpectrum, Durham, NC) with 100 MBq of Tc-99m in the LV. Images were taken over the same range of positions as the simulations and were compared based on the summed perfusion score (SPS), defect width, and apparent defect uptake for each position. Results: Point sources in the water phantom showed absolute changes in attenuation of ≤8% over the range of positions and relative changes of ≤5% compared to the apex. In the anthropomorphic computer simulations, absolute change increased to 20%. The changes in relative attenuation caused a change in SPS of <1.5 for the water phantom but up to 4.2 in the anthropomorphic phantom. Changes were larger for axial than for transverse translations. These results were supported by SPS changes of up to six seen in the physical anthropomorphic phantom for axial translations. Defect width was also seen to significantly increase. The

  1. Photon attenuation by intensifying screens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holje, G.

    1983-01-01

    The photon attenuation by intensifying screens of different chemical composition has been determined. The attenuation of photons between 20 keV and 120 keV was measured by use of a multi-channel analyzer and a broad bremsstrahlung distribution. The attenuation by the intensifying screens was hereby determined simultaneously at many different monoenergetic photon energies. Experimentally determined attenuations were found to agree well with attenuation calculated from mass attenuation coefficients. The attenuation by the screens was also determined at various bremsstrahlung distributions, simulating those occurring behind the patient in various diagnostic X-ray examinations. The high attenuation in some of the intensifying screens form the basis for an analysis of the construction of asymmetric screen pairs. Single screen systems are suggested as a favourable alternative to thick screen pair systems. (Author)

  2. Two media method for linear attenuation coefficient determination of irregular soil samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vici, Carlos Henrique Georges

    2004-01-01

    In several situations of nuclear applications, the knowledge of gamma-ray linear attenuation coefficient for irregular samples is necessary, such as in soil physics and geology. This work presents the validation of a methodology for the determination of the linear attenuation coefficient (μ) of irregular shape samples, in such a way that it is not necessary to know the thickness of the considered sample. With this methodology irregular soil samples (undeformed field samples) from Londrina region, north of Parana were studied. It was employed the two media method for the μ determination. It consists of the μ determination through the measurement of a gamma-ray beam attenuation by the sample sequentially immersed in two different media, with known and appropriately chosen attenuation coefficients. For comparison, the theoretical value of μ was calculated by the product of the mass attenuation coefficient, obtained by the WinXcom code, and the measured value of the density sample. This software employs the chemical composition of the samples and supplies a table of the mass attenuation coefficients versus the photon energy. To verify the validity of the two media method, compared with the simple gamma ray transmission method, regular pome stone samples were used. With these results for the attenuation coefficients and their respective deviations, it was possible to compare the two methods. In this way we concluded that the two media method is a good tool for the determination of the linear attenuation coefficient of irregular materials, particularly in the study of soils samples. (author)

  3. Tracer attenuation in groundwater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cvetkovic, Vladimir

    2011-12-01

    The self-purifying capacity of aquifers strongly depends on the attenuation of waterborne contaminants, i.e., irreversible loss of contaminant mass on a given scale as a result of coupled transport and transformation processes. A general formulation of tracer attenuation in groundwater is presented. Basic sensitivities of attenuation to macrodispersion and retention are illustrated for a few typical retention mechanisms. Tracer recovery is suggested as an experimental proxy for attenuation. Unique experimental data of tracer recovery in crystalline rock compare favorably with the theoretical model that is based on diffusion-controlled retention. Non-Fickian hydrodynamic transport has potentially a large impact on field-scale attenuation of dissolved contaminants.

  4. Statistical modeling of optical attenuation measurements in continental fog conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Muhammad Saeed; Amin, Muhammad; Awan, Muhammad Saleem; Minhas, Abid Ali; Saleem, Jawad; Khan, Rahimdad

    2017-03-01

    Free-space optics is an innovative technology that uses atmosphere as a propagation medium to provide higher data rates. These links are heavily affected by atmospheric channel mainly because of fog and clouds that act to scatter and even block the modulated beam of light from reaching the receiver end, hence imposing severe attenuation. A comprehensive statistical study of the fog effects and deep physical understanding of the fog phenomena are very important for suggesting improvements (reliability and efficiency) in such communication systems. In this regard, 6-months real-time measured fog attenuation data are considered and statistically investigated. A detailed statistical analysis related to each fog event for that period is presented; the best probability density functions are selected on the basis of Akaike information criterion, while the estimates of unknown parameters are computed by maximum likelihood estimation technique. The results show that most fog attenuation events follow normal mixture distribution and some follow the Weibull distribution.

  5. Cement-based materials' characterization using ultrasonic attenuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Punurai, Wonsiri

    The quantitative nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of cement-based materials is a critical area of research that is leading to advances in the health monitoring and condition assessment of the civil infrastructure. Ultrasonic NDE has been implemented with varying levels of success to characterize cement-based materials with complex microstructure and damage. A major issue with the application of ultrasonic techniques to characterize cement-based materials is their inherent inhomogeneity at multiple length scales. Ultrasonic waves propagating in these materials exhibit a high degree of attenuation losses, making quantitative interpretations difficult. Physically, these attenuation losses are a combination of internal friction in a viscoelastic material (ultrasonic absorption), and the scattering losses due to the material heterogeneity. The objective of this research is to use ultrasonic attenuation to characterize the microstructure of heterogeneous cement-based materials. The study considers a real, but simplified cement-based material, cement paste---a common bonding matrix of all cement-based composites. Cement paste consists of Portland cement and water but does not include aggregates. First, this research presents the findings of a theoretical study that uses a set of existing acoustics models to quantify the scattered ultrasonic wavefield from a known distribution of entrained air voids. These attenuation results are then coupled with experimental measurements to develop an inversion procedure that directly predicts the size and volume fraction of entrained air voids in a cement paste specimen. Optical studies verify the accuracy of the proposed inversion scheme. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of using attenuation to measure the average size, volume fraction of entrained air voids and the existence of additional larger entrapped air voids in hardened cement paste. Finally, coherent and diffuse ultrasonic waves are used to develop a direct

  6. Attenuation of concentration fluctuations of water vapor and other trace gases in turbulent tube flow

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. J. Massman

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Recent studies with closed-path eddy covariance (EC systems have indicated that the attenuation of fluctuations of water vapor concentration is dependent upon ambient relative humidity, presumably due to sorption/desorption of water molecules at the interior surface of the tube. Previous studies of EC-related tube attenuation effects have either not considered this issue at all or have only examined it superficially. Nonetheless, the attenuation of water vapor fluctuations is clearly much greater than might be expected from a passive tracer in turbulent tube flow. This study reexamines the turbulent tube flow issue for both passive and sorbing tracers with the intent of developing a physically-based semi-empirical model that describes the attenuation associated with water vapor fluctuations. Toward this end, we develop a new model of tube flow dynamics (radial profiles of the turbulent diffusivity and tube airstream velocity. We compare our new passive-tracer formulation with previous formulations in a systematic and unified way in order to assess how sensitive the passive-tracer results depend on fundamental modeling assumptions. We extend the passive tracer model to the vapor sorption/desorption case by formulating the model's wall boundary condition in terms of a physically-based semi-empirical model of the sorption/desorption vapor fluxes. Finally we synthesize all modeling and observational results into a single analytical expression that captures the effects of the mean ambient humidity and tube flow (Reynolds number on tube attenuation.

  7. 3-D seismic velocity and attenuation structures in the geothermal field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nugraha, Andri Dian [Global Geophysics Research Group, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Institute of Technology Bandung, Jalan Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, 40132 (Indonesia); Syahputra, Ahmad [Geophyisical Engineering, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Institute of Technology Bandung, Jalan Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, 40132 (Indonesia); Fatkhan,; Sule, Rachmat [Applied Geophysics Research Group, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Institute of Technology Bandung, Jalan Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, 40132 (Indonesia)

    2013-09-09

    We conducted delay time tomography to determine 3-D seismic velocity structures (Vp, Vs, and Vp/Vs ratio) using micro-seismic events in the geothermal field. The P-and S-wave arrival times of these micro-seismic events have been used as input for the tomographic inversion. Our preliminary seismic velocity results show that the subsurface condition of geothermal field can be fairly delineated the characteristic of reservoir. We then extended our understanding of the subsurface physical properties through determining of attenuation structures (Qp, Qs, and Qs/Qp ratio) using micro-seismic waveform. We combined seismic velocities and attenuation structures to get much better interpretation of the reservoir characteristic. Our preliminary attanuation structures results show reservoir characterization can be more clearly by using the 3-D attenuation model of Qp, Qs, and Qs/Qp ratio combined with 3-D seismic velocity model of Vp, Vs, and Vp/Vs ratio.

  8. Attenuation and Velocity Structure in Spain and Morocco: Distinguishing Between Water, Temperature, and Partial Melt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bezada, M. J.; Humphreys, E.

    2014-12-01

    Temperature, melt fraction, and water content affect seismic velocity and attenuation differently. Both are sensitive to temperature, but velocity is more sensitive to melt fraction and attenuation is thought to be more sensitive to water content. For these reasons, combining attenuation measurements with tomographic imaging of velocity structure can help untangle these fields and better resolve lithospheric structure and physical state. We map variations in attenuation beneath Spain and northern Morocco using teleseismic data generated by more than a dozen teleseismic deep-focus earthquakes recorded on a dense array of stations. For each event, we first estimate the source from the best quality recordings. We then apply an attenuation operator to the source estimate, using a range of t* values, to match the record at each station. We invert for a smooth map of t* from the ensemble of measurements. The spatial patterns in t* correlate very well with the tectonic domains in Spain and Morocco. In particular, areas in Spain that resisted deformation during the Variscan and Alpine orogenies produce very little attenuation. Comparing the attenuation map with seismic velocity structure we find that, in Morocco, some areas with strong low-velocity anomalies and recent volcanism do not cause high attenuation. These observations suggest that water content is a more likely cause for seismic attenuation in the study area than temperature, and that the non-attenuative low-velocity anomalies in Morocco are produced by partial mel.

  9. A Role for Exercise in Attenuating Unhealthy Food Consumption in Response to Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shina Leow

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available It is well established that both acute and chronic stress can be detrimental to health and wellbeing by directly increasing the risk of several chronic diseases and related health problems. In addition, stress may contribute to ill-health indirectly via its downstream effects on individuals’ health-related behaviour, such as promoting the intake of unhealthy palatable foods high in fat and sugar content. This paper reviews (a the research literature on stress-models; (b recent research investigating stress-induced eating and (c the potential physiological and psychological pathways contributing to stress-induced eating. Particular attention is given to (d the role of physical exercise in attenuating acute stress, with exploration of potential mechanisms through which exercise may reduce unhealthy food and drink consumption subsequent to stressor exposure. Finally, exercise motivation is discussed as an important psychological influence over the capacity for physical exercise to attenuate unhealthy food and drink consumption after exposure to stressors. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of how physical exercise might alleviate stress-induced unhealthy food choices.

  10. A Role for Exercise in Attenuating Unhealthy Food Consumption in Response to Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leow, Shina; Jackson, Ben; Alderson, Jacqueline A; Guelfi, Kym J; Dimmock, James A

    2018-02-06

    It is well established that both acute and chronic stress can be detrimental to health and wellbeing by directly increasing the risk of several chronic diseases and related health problems. In addition, stress may contribute to ill-health indirectly via its downstream effects on individuals' health-related behaviour, such as promoting the intake of unhealthy palatable foods high in fat and sugar content. This paper reviews (a) the research literature on stress-models; (b) recent research investigating stress-induced eating and (c) the potential physiological and psychological pathways contributing to stress-induced eating. Particular attention is given to (d) the role of physical exercise in attenuating acute stress, with exploration of potential mechanisms through which exercise may reduce unhealthy food and drink consumption subsequent to stressor exposure. Finally, exercise motivation is discussed as an important psychological influence over the capacity for physical exercise to attenuate unhealthy food and drink consumption after exposure to stressors. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of how physical exercise might alleviate stress-induced unhealthy food choices.

  11. An ice-sheet-wide framework for englacial attenuation from ice-penetrating radar data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, T. M.; Bamber, J. L.; Williams, C. N.; Paden, J. D.; Siegert, M. J.; Huybrechts, P.; Gagliardini, O.; Gillet-Chaulet, F.

    2016-07-01

    Radar inference of the bulk properties of glacier beds, most notably identifying basal melting, is, in general, derived from the basal reflection coefficient. On the scale of an ice sheet, unambiguous determination of basal reflection is primarily limited by uncertainty in the englacial attenuation of the radio wave, which is an Arrhenius function of temperature. Existing bed-returned power algorithms for deriving attenuation assume that the attenuation rate is regionally constant, which is not feasible at an ice-sheet-wide scale. Here we introduce a new semi-empirical framework for deriving englacial attenuation, and, to demonstrate its efficacy, we apply it to the Greenland Ice Sheet. A central feature is the use of a prior Arrhenius temperature model to estimate the spatial variation in englacial attenuation as a first guess input for the radar algorithm. We demonstrate regions of solution convergence for two input temperature fields and for independently analysed field campaigns. The coverage achieved is a trade-off with uncertainty and we propose that the algorithm can be "tuned" for discrimination of basal melt (attenuation loss uncertainty ˜ 5 dB). This is supported by our physically realistic ( ˜ 20 dB) range for the basal reflection coefficient. Finally, we show that the attenuation solution can be used to predict the temperature bias of thermomechanical ice sheet models and is in agreement with known model temperature biases at the Dye 3 ice core.

  12. SPECT quantification: a review of the different correction methods with compton scatter, attenuation and spatial deterioration effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groiselle, C.; Rocchisani, J.M.; Moretti, J.L.; Dreuille, O. de; Gaillard, J.F.; Bendriem, B.

    1997-01-01

    SPECT quantification: a review of the different correction methods with Compton scatter attenuation and spatial deterioration effects. The improvement of gamma-cameras, acquisition and reconstruction software opens new perspectives in term of image quantification in nuclear medicine. In order to meet the challenge, numerous works have been undertaken in recent years to correct for the different physical phenomena that prevent an exact estimation of the radioactivity distribution. The main phenomena that have to betaken into account are scatter, attenuation and resolution. In this work, authors present the physical basis of each issue, its consequences on quantification and the main methods proposed to correct them. (authors)

  13. Gain attenuation of gated framing camera

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiao Shali; Liu Shenye; Cao Zhurong; Li Hang; Zhang Haiying; Yuan Zheng; Wang Liwei

    2009-01-01

    The theoretic model of framing camera's gain attenuation is analyzed. The exponential attenuation curve of the gain along the pulse propagation time is simulated. An experiment to measure the coefficient of gain attenuation based on the gain attenuation theory is designed. Experiment result shows that the gain follows an exponential attenuation rule with a quotient of 0.0249 nm -1 , the attenuation coefficient of the pulse is 0.00356 mm -1 . The loss of the pulse propagation along the MCP stripline is the leading reason of gain attenuation. But in the figure of a single stripline, the gain dose not follow the rule of exponential attenuation completely, instead, there is a gain increase at the stripline bottom. That is caused by the reflection of the pulse. The reflectance is about 24.2%. Combining the experiment and theory, which design of the stripline MCP can improved the gain attenuation. (authors)

  14. Attenuation correction for SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hosoba, Minoru

    1986-01-01

    Attenuation correction is required for the reconstruction of a quantitative SPECT image. A new method for detecting body contours, which are important for the correction of tissue attenuation, is presented. The effect of body contours, detected by the newly developed method, on the reconstructed images was evaluated using various techniques for attenuation correction. The count rates in the specified region of interest in the phantom image by the Radial Post Correction (RPC) method, the Weighted Back Projection (WBP) method, Chang's method were strongly affected by the accuracy of the contours, as compared to those by Sorenson's method. To evaluate the effect of non-uniform attenuators on the cardiac SPECT, computer simulation experiments were performed using two types of models, the uniform attenuator model (UAM) and the non-uniform attenuator model (NUAM). The RPC method showed the lowest relative percent error (%ERROR) in UAM (11 %). However, 20 to 30 percent increase in %ERROR was observed for NUAM reconstructed with the RPC, WBP, and Chang's methods. Introducing an average attenuation coefficient (0.12/cm for Tc-99m and 0.14/cm for Tl-201) in the RPC method decreased %ERROR to the levels for UAM. Finally, a comparison between images, which were obtained by 180 deg and 360 deg scans and reconstructed from the RPC method, showed that the degree of the distortion of the contour of the simulated ventricles in the 180 deg scan was 15 % higher than that in the 360 deg scan. (Namekawa, K.)

  15. Improved soil particle-size analysis by gamma-ray attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, J.C.M.; Vaz, C.M.P.; Reichardt, K.; Swartzendruber, D.

    1997-01-01

    The size distribution of particles is useful for physical characterization of soil. This study was conducted to determine whether a new method of soil particle-size analysis by gamma-ray attenuation could be further improved by changing the depth and time of measurement of the suspended particle concentration during sedimentation. In addition to the advantage of nondestructive, undisturbed measurement by gamma-ray attenuation, as compared with conventional pipette or hydrometer methods, the modifications here suggested and employed do substantially decrease the total time for analysis, and will also facilitate total automation and generalize the method for other sedimentation studies. Experimental results are presented for three different Brazilian soil materials, and illustrate the nature of the fine detail provided in the cumulative particle-size distribution as given by measurements obtained during the relatively short time period of 28 min

  16. Utilization of barite/cement composites for gamma rays attenuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakr, Khaled; Ramadan, Wageeh; Sayed, Magda; El-Zakla, Tarek; El-Desouqy, Mohamed; El-Faramawy, Nabil

    2018-04-01

    The present work is directed to investigate the contribution of adding barite aggregates to cement as a shielding material for radioactive wastes disposal facilities. The percentages of barite from 5% up to 20% mixed with cement with different grain sizes were examined. Mechanical and physical properties such as compressive strength, wet and dry densities, water absorption, and porosity have been investigated. The thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction were used to examine the thermal stability and the characterizations of studied samples, respectively. The linear attenuation coefficient, mean free path, half value layer, and transmission fraction were evaluated. All the nuclear shielding parameters revealed the uppermost values for cement mixed with 5% barite of size range 250-600 µm. The attenuation coefficient of the investigated samples displayed an increase by more than 125% than that of neat cement.

  17. Gamma-Ray Attenuation to Evaluate Soil Porosity: An Analysis of Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pires, Luiz F.; Pereira, André B.

    2014-01-01

    Soil porosity (ϕ) is of a great deal for environmental studies due to the fact that water infiltrates and suffers redistribution in the soil pore space. Many physical and biochemical processes related to environmental quality occur in the soil porous system. Representative determinations of ϕ are necessary due to the importance of this physical property in several fields of natural sciences. In the current work, two methods to evaluate ϕ were analyzed by means of gamma-ray attenuation technique. The first method uses the soil attenuation approach through dry soil and saturated samples, whereas the second one utilizes the same approach but taking into account dry soil samples to assess soil bulk density and soil particle density to determine ϕ. The results obtained point out a good correlation between both methods. However, when ϕ is obtained through soil water content at saturation and a 4 mm collimator is used to collimate the gamma-ray beam the first method also shows good correlations with the traditional one. PMID:24616640

  18. Fitness attenuates the prevalence of increased coronary artery calcium in individuals with metabolic syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekblom-Bak, Elin; Ekblom, Örjan; Fagman, Erika; Angerås, Oskar; Schmidt, Caroline; Rosengren, Annika; Börjesson, Mats; Bergström, Göran

    2018-02-01

    Background The association between cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity and coronary artery calcium (CAC) is unclear, and whether higher levels of fitness attenuate CAC prevalence in subjects with metabolic syndrome is not fully elucidated. The present study aims to: a) investigate the independent association of fitness on the prevalence of CAC, after adjustment for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary time, and b) study the possible attenuation of increased CAC by higher fitness, in participants with metabolic syndrome. Design Cross-sectional. Methods In total 678 participants (52% women), 50-65 years old, from the SCAPIS pilot study were included. Fitness (VO 2 max) was estimated by submaximal cycle ergometer test and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary time were assessed using hip-worn accelerometers. CAC score (CACS) was quantified using the Agatston score. Results The odds of having a significant CACS (≥100) was half in participants with moderate/high fitness compared with their low fitness counterparts. Further consideration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sedentary time and number of components of the metabolic syndrome did only slightly alter the effect size. Those with metabolic syndrome had 47% higher odds for significant CAC compared with those without metabolic syndrome. However, moderate/high fitness seems to partially attenuate this risk, as further joint analysis indicated an increased odds for having significant CAC only in the unfit metabolic syndrome participants. Conclusions Being fit is associated with a reduced risk of having significant CAC in individuals with metabolic syndrome. While still very much underutilized, fitness should be taken into consideration in everyday clinical risk prediction in addition to the traditional risk factors of the metabolic syndrome.

  19. Improvement of quantitation in SPECT: Attenuation and scatter correction using non-uniform attenuation data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukai, T.; Torizuka, K.; Douglass, K.H.; Wagner, H.N.

    1985-01-01

    Quantitative assessment of tracer distribution with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is difficult because of attenuation and scattering of gamma rays within the object. A method considering the source geometry was developed, and effects of attenuation and scatter on SPECT quantitation were studied using phantoms with non-uniform attenuation. The distribution of attenuation coefficients (μ) within the source were obtained by transmission CT. The attenuation correction was performed by an iterative reprojection technique. The scatter correction was done by convolution of the attenuation corrected image and an appropriate filter made by line source studies. The filter characteristics depended on μ and SPEC measurement at each pixel. The SPECT obtained by this method showed the most reasonable results than the images reconstructed by other methods. The scatter correction could compensate completely for a 28% scatter components from a long line source, and a 61% component for thick and extended source. Consideration of source geometries was necessary for effective corrections. The present method is expected to be valuable for the quantitative assessment of regional tracer activity

  20. Frequency scaling of slant-path atmospheric attenuation in the absence of rain for millimeter-wave links

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas-Vegas, María. José; Riera, José Manuel

    2016-11-01

    Broadband satellite communications systems, either used for broadcast or fixed satellite services, have grown continuously in recent years. This has led to the use of higher frequency bands, from the Ku (14/11 GHz) to the Ka band (30/20 GHz) in the last decade, and with the expectation of using the Q/V band (50/40 GHz) and even the W band (75-110 GHz) in the future. As frequency increases, radio wave propagation effects in the slant-path within the troposphere are becoming more and more relevant. The objective of this research is the proposal of frequency scaling approximations for the total attenuation in the absence of rain, a condition that occurs during the highest percentages of time, usually more than 95% in temperate climates. There is a strong relationship between total attenuation at different frequencies, as it arises from the same physical phenomena, namely, the presence of oxygen, water vapor, and clouds in the slant path. This strong relationship allows frequency scaling estimations to be proposed. In particular, polynomials for instantaneous frequency scaling of total attenuation under these conditions have been calculated for a set of frequencies in the range 10-100 GHz, based on atmospheric profiles of 60 sites from all over the world and physical models of attenuation. Global polynomials are provided for the 72 combinations of nine significant frequencies, which can be used to estimate attenuation at a frequency band from its known value at a different one. Refined expressions have also been calculated for different climatic zones, providing more precise estimations.

  1. Attenuation tomography in the rupture area of the 2010 M8.8 Maule, Chile, earthquake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heather-Smith, Helen; Rietbrock, Andreas

    2016-04-01

    In recent years several seismological studies have developed a detailed image of the megathrust interface between the subducting Nazca plate and and the overriding South American plate in the rupture area of the 2010 M8.8 Maule, Chile, earthquake. Hicks et al. (2014) have published a high resolution 3D seismic tomography model and characterised the different regimes acting along the interface based on their seismic properties. A more detailed study by Moreno et al. (2014) showed that the seismic Vp/Vs ratio and inter-seismic locking determined from GPS measurements are correlated. Together these observations open up the possibility to map the rupture potential of possible future earthquakes, although the underlying processes are yet not fully understood and a more in depth analysis of other physical properties is needed. 3D seismic attenuation structure as well as seismic stress-drop distribution based on the aftershock seismicity are providing independent data sets to better constrain the physical processes acting along the subduction zone interface. As seismic attenuation is particularly sensitive to fluid saturation it opens up the possibility to study more directly the influence of fluids on aftershock activity as compared to standard velocity tomography studies. Based on our event catalogue of approximately 30,000 aftershocks we are currently selecting the most appropriate data set for the staggered 3D attenuation tomography. The inverted attenuation model will then be used to calculate seismic stress drop values for the complete aftershock catalogue. We will present our preliminary 3D attenuation model together with our stress drop estimates and compare our finding to the 3D velocity structure and slip distribution.

  2. SEISMIC ATTENUATION FOR RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joel Walls; M.T. Taner; Naum Derzhi; Gary Mavko; Jack Dvorkin

    2003-12-01

    We have developed and tested technology for a new type of direct hydrocarbon detection. The method uses inelastic rock properties to greatly enhance the sensitivity of surface seismic methods to the presence of oil and gas saturation. These methods include use of energy absorption, dispersion, and attenuation (Q) along with traditional seismic attributes like velocity, impedance, and AVO. Our approach is to combine three elements: (1) a synthesis of the latest rock physics understanding of how rock inelasticity is related to rock type, pore fluid types, and pore microstructure, (2) synthetic seismic modeling that will help identify the relative contributions of scattering and intrinsic inelasticity to apparent Q attributes, and (3) robust algorithms that extract relative wave attenuation attributes from seismic data. This project provides: (1) Additional petrophysical insight from acquired data; (2) Increased understanding of rock and fluid properties; (3) New techniques to measure reservoir properties that are not currently available; and (4) Provide tools to more accurately describe the reservoir and predict oil location and volumes. These methodologies will improve the industry's ability to predict and quantify oil and gas saturation distribution, and to apply this information through geologic models to enhance reservoir simulation. We have applied for two separate patents relating to work that was completed as part of this project.

  3. Mechanism of attenuation of a chimeric influenza A/B transfectant virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, G; Bergmann, M; Garcia-Sastre, A; Palese, P

    1992-08-01

    The ribonucleoprotein transfection system for influenza virus allowed us to construct an influenza A virus containing a chimeric neuraminidase (NA) gene in which the noncoding sequence is derived from the NS gene of influenza B virus (T. Muster, E. K. Subbarao, M. Enami, B. P. Murphy, and P. Palese, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:5177-5181, 1991). This transfectant virus is attenuated in mice and grows to lower titers in tissue culture than wild-type virus. Since such a virus has characteristics desirable for a live attenuated vaccine strain, attempts were made to characterize this virus at the molecular level. Our analysis suggests that the attenuation of the virus is due to changes in the cis signal sequences, which resulted in a reduction of transcription and replication of the chimeric NA gene. The major finding concerns a sixfold reduction in NA-specific viral RNA in the virion, causing a reduction in the ratio of infectious particles to physical particles compared with the ratio in wild-type virus. Although the NA-specific mRNA level is also reduced in transfectant virus-infected cells, it does not appear to contribute to the attenuation characteristics of the virus. The levels of the other RNAs and their expression appear to be unchanged for the transfectant virus. It is suggested that downregulation of the synthesis of one viral RNA segment leads to the generation of defective viruses during each replication cycle. We believe that this represents a general principle for attenuation which may be applied to other segmented viruses containing either single-stranded or double-stranded RNA.

  4. Airborne non-contact and contact broadband ultrasounds for frequency attenuation profile estimation of cementitious materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gosálbez, J; Wright, W M D; Jiang, W; Carrión, A; Genovés, V; Bosch, I

    2018-08-01

    In this paper, the study of frequency-dependent ultrasonic attenuation in strongly heterogeneous cementitious materials is addressed. To accurately determine the attenuation over a wide frequency range, it is necessary to have suitable excitation techniques. We have analysed two kinds of ultrasound techniques: contact ultrasound and airborne non-contact ultrasound. The mathematical formulation for frequency-dependent attenuation has been established and it has been revealed that each technique may achieve similar results but requires specific different calibration processes. In particular, the airborne non-contact technique suffers high attenuation due to energy losses at the air-material interfaces. Thus, its bandwidth is limited to low frequencies but it does not require physical contact between transducer and specimen. In contrast, the classical contact technique can manage higher frequencies but the measurement depends on the pressure between the transducer and the specimen. Cement specimens have been tested with both techniques and frequency attenuation dependence has been estimated. Similar results were achieved at overlapping bandwidth and it has been demonstrated that the airborne non-contact ultrasound technique could be a viable alternative to the classical contact technique. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Physics of the tropospheric radiopropagation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ajayi, G.O.

    1989-02-01

    The physics of the tropospheric radiopropagation is presented considering the atmospheric radio refractive index and taking into account the influence of precipitation and the attenuation due to the atmospheric gases. 35 refs, 20 figs, 3 tabs

  6. Landing gear noise attenuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moe, Jeffrey W. (Inventor); Whitmire, Julia (Inventor); Kwan, Hwa-Wan (Inventor); Abeysinghe, Amal (Inventor)

    2011-01-01

    A landing gear noise attenuator mitigates noise generated by airframe deployable landing gear. The noise attenuator can have a first position when the landing gear is in its deployed or down position, and a second position when the landing gear is in its up or stowed position. The noise attenuator may be an inflatable fairing that does not compromise limited space constraints associated with landing gear retraction and stowage. A truck fairing mounted under a truck beam can have a compliant edge to allow for non-destructive impingement of a deflected fire during certain conditions.

  7. Empirical formulae for mass attenuation and energy absorption coefficients from 1 keV to 20 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manjunatha, H.C.; Sowmya, N.; Seenappa, L.; Sridhar, K.N.; Hanumantharayappa, C.

    2017-01-01

    Mass attenuation and energy absorption coefficients represents attenuation and absorption of X-rays and gamma rays in the material medium. A new empirical formula is proposed for mass attenuation and energy absorption coefficients in the region 1 < Z < 92 and from 1 keV to 20 MeV. The mass attenuation and energy absorption coefficients do not varies linearly with energy. We have performed the nonlinear regressions/nonlinear least square fittings and proposed the simple empirical relations between mass attenuation coefficients (μ/ρ) and mass energy absorption coefficients (μ en /ρ) and energy. We have compared the values produced by this formula with that of experiments. A good agreement of present formula with the experiments/previous models suggests that the present formulae could be used to evaluate mass attenuation and energy absorption coefficients in the region 1 < Z < 92. This formula is a model-independent formula and is the first of its kind that produces a mass attenuation and energy absorption coefficient values with the only simple input of energy for wide energy range 1 keV - 20 MeV in the atomic number region 1 < Z < 92. This formula is very much useful in the fields of radiation physics and dosimetry

  8. Natural attenuation of hydrocarbon polluted soils in Mexico

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez-Linares, L.; Rojas-Avelizapa, N.; Roldan-Carrillo, T.; Islas-Ramirez, M.

    2009-01-01

    Crude oil and hydrocarbon by-proudcts are the most common pollutants in Mexico. In the last years, the two terms, contamination and remediation have being re-defined; also, based on both the scientific advancement and the human risk, the sustentability of remediation technologies and the definition of cleaning levels has been taking place. In this context, the Natural Attenuation of soils is a viable and low cost remediation choice, defined as the degradation of organic compounds without artificial stimulation, through microbial activity including physical processes, such as volatilization, dilution, sorption, and hydraulic dispersion. (Author)

  9. Electron attenuation anisotropy at crystal surfaces from LEED

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Romanyuk, Olexandr; Bartoš, Igor

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 603, č. 17 (2009), s. 2789-2792 ISSN 0039-6028 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA202/07/0601; GA AV ČR IAA100100628 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : electron attenuation length, low energy electron diffraction, photoelectron diffraction, electron–solid scattering and transmission, copper * low energy electron diffraction * photoelectron diffraction * electron–solid scattering and transmission * copper Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.798, year: 2009 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.susc.2009.07.024

  10. Backscatter and attenuation characterization of ventricular myocardium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Allyson Ann

    2009-12-01

    This Dissertation presents quantitative ultrasonic measurements of the myocardium in fetal hearts and adult human hearts with the goal of studying the physics of sound waves incident upon anisotropic and inhomogeneous materials. Ultrasound has been used as a clinical tool to assess heart structure and function for several decades. The clinical usefulness of this noninvasive approach has grown with our understanding of the physical mechanisms underlying the interaction of ultrasonic waves with the myocardium. In this Dissertation, integrated backscatter and attenuation analyses were performed on midgestational fetal hearts to assess potential differences in the left and right ventricular myocardium. The hearts were interrogated using a 50 MHz transducer that enabled finer spatial resolution than could be achieved at more typical clinical frequencies. Ultrasonic data analyses demonstrated different patterns and relative levels of backscatter and attenuation from the myocardium of the left ventricle and the right ventricle. Ultrasonic data of adult human hearts were acquired with a clinical imaging system and quantified by their magnitude and time delay of cyclic variation of myocardial backscatter. The results were analyzing using Bayes Classification and ROC analysis to quantify potential advantages of using a combination of two features of cyclic variation of myocardial backscatter over using only one or the other feature to distinguish between groups of subjects. When the subjects were classified based on hemoglobin A1c, the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, and the ratio of triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, differences in the magnitude and normalized time delay of cyclic variation of myocardial backscatter were observed. The cyclic variation results also suggested a trend toward a larger area under the ROC curve when information from magnitude and time delay of cyclic variation is combined using Bayes classification than when

  11. Attenuation correction for the large non-human primate brain imaging using microPET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naidoo-Variawa, S; Lehnert, W; Kassiou, M; Banati, R; Meikle, S R

    2010-01-01

    Assessment of the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of radiopharmaceuticals in vivo is often performed on animal models of human disease prior to their use in humans. The baboon brain is physiologically and neuro-anatomically similar to the human brain and is therefore a suitable model for evaluating novel CNS radioligands. We previously demonstrated the feasibility of performing baboon brain imaging on a dedicated small animal PET scanner provided that the data are accurately corrected for degrading physical effects such as photon attenuation in the body. In this study, we investigated factors affecting the accuracy and reliability of alternative attenuation correction strategies when imaging the brain of a large non-human primate (papio hamadryas) using the microPET Focus 220 animal scanner. For measured attenuation correction, the best bias versus noise performance was achieved using a 57 Co transmission point source with a 4% energy window. The optimal energy window for a 68 Ge transmission source operating in singles acquisition mode was 20%, independent of the source strength, providing bias-noise performance almost as good as for 57 Co. For both transmission sources, doubling the acquisition time had minimal impact on the bias-noise trade-off for corrected emission images, despite observable improvements in reconstructed attenuation values. In a [ 18 F]FDG brain scan of a female baboon, both measured attenuation correction strategies achieved good results and similar SNR, while segmented attenuation correction (based on uncorrected emission images) resulted in appreciable regional bias in deep grey matter structures and the skull. We conclude that measured attenuation correction using a single pass 57 Co (4% energy window) or 68 Ge (20% window) transmission scan achieves an excellent trade-off between bias and propagation of noise when imaging the large non-human primate brain with a microPET scanner.

  12. Seismic Full Waveform Modeling & Imaging in Attenuating Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Peng

    Seismic attenuation strongly affects seismic waveforms by amplitude loss and velocity dispersion. Without proper inclusion of Q parameters, errors can be introduced for seismic full waveform modeling and imaging. Three different (Carcione's, Robertsson's, and the generalized Robertsson's) isotropic viscoelastic wave equations based on the generalized standard linear solid (GSLS) are evaluated. The second-order displacement equations are derived, and used to demonstrate that, with the same stress relaxation times, these viscoelastic formulations are equivalent. By introducing separate memory variables for P and S relaxation functions, Robertsson's formulation is generalized to allow different P and S wave stress relaxation times, which improves the physical consistency of the Qp and Qs modelled in the seismograms.The three formulations have comparable computational cost. 3D seismic finite-difference forward modeling is applied to anisotropic viscoelastic media. The viscoelastic T-matrix (a dynamic effective medium theory) relates frequency-dependent anisotropic attenuation and velocity to reservoir properties in fractured HTI media, based on the meso-scale fluid flow attenuation mechanism. The seismic signatures resulting from changing viscoelastic reservoir properties are easily visible. Analysis of 3D viscoelastic seismograms suggests that anisotropic attenuation is a potential tool for reservoir characterization. To compensate the Q effects during reverse-time migration (RTM) in viscoacoustic and viscoelastic media, amplitudes need to be compensated during wave propagation; the propagation velocity of the Q-compensated wavefield needs to be the same as in the attenuating wavefield, to restore the phase information. Both amplitude and phase can be compensated when the velocity dispersion and the amplitude loss are decoupled. For wave equations based on the GSLS, because Q effects are coupled in the memory variables, Q-compensated wavefield propagates faster than

  13. Performance evaluation of the spectral centroid downshift method for attenuation estimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samimi, Kayvan; Varghese, Tomy

    2015-05-01

    Estimation of frequency-dependent ultrasonic attenuation is an important aspect of tissue characterization. Along with other acoustic parameters studied in quantitative ultrasound, the attenuation coefficient can be used to differentiate normal and pathological tissue. The spectral centroid downshift (CDS) method is one the most common frequencydomain approaches applied to this problem. In this study, a statistical analysis of this method's performance was carried out based on a parametric model of the signal power spectrum in the presence of electronic noise. The parametric model used for the power spectrum of received RF data assumes a Gaussian spectral profile for the transmit pulse, and incorporates effects of attenuation, windowing, and electronic noise. Spectral moments were calculated and used to estimate second-order centroid statistics. A theoretical expression for the variance of a maximum likelihood estimator of attenuation coefficient was derived in terms of the centroid statistics and other model parameters, such as transmit pulse center frequency and bandwidth, RF data window length, SNR, and number of regression points. Theoretically predicted estimation variances were compared with experimentally estimated variances on RF data sets from both computer-simulated and physical tissue-mimicking phantoms. Scan parameter ranges for this study were electronic SNR from 10 to 70 dB, transmit pulse standard deviation from 0.5 to 4.1 MHz, transmit pulse center frequency from 2 to 8 MHz, and data window length from 3 to 17 mm. Acceptable agreement was observed between theoretical predictions and experimentally estimated values with differences smaller than 0.05 dB/cm/MHz across the parameter ranges investigated. This model helps predict the best attenuation estimation variance achievable with the CDS method, in terms of said scan parameters.

  14. MRI-guided attenuation correction in whole-body PET/MR. Assessment of the effect of bone attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akbarzadeh, A.; Ay, M.R.; Ahmadian, A.; Riahi Alam, N.; Zaidi, H.

    2013-01-01

    Hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)/MRI presents many advantages in comparison with its counterpart PET/CT in terms of improved soft-tissue contrast, decrease in radiation exposure, and truly simultaneous and multi-parametric imaging capabilities. However, the lack of well-established methodology for MR-based attenuation correction is hampering further development and wider acceptance of this technology. We assess the impact of ignoring bone attenuation and using different tissue classes for generation of the attenuation map on the accuracy of attenuation correction of PET data. This work was performed using simulation studies based on the XCAT phantom and clinical input data. For the latter, PET and CT images of patients were used as input for the analytic simulation model using realistic activity distributions where CT-based attenuation correction was utilized as reference for comparison. For both phantom and clinical studies, the reference attenuation map was classified into various numbers of tissue classes to produce three (air, soft tissue and lung), four (air, lungs, soft tissue and cortical bones) and five (air, lungs, soft tissue, cortical bones and spongeous bones) class attenuation maps. The phantom studies demonstrated that ignoring bone increases the relative error by up to 6.8% in the body and up to 31.0% for bony regions. Likewise, the simulated clinical studies showed that the mean relative error reached 15% for lesions located in the body and 30.7% for lesions located in bones, when neglecting bones. These results demonstrate an underestimation of about 30% of tracer uptake when neglecting bone, which in turn imposes substantial loss of quantitative accuracy for PET images produced by hybrid PET/MRI systems. Considering bones in the attenuation map will considerably improve the accuracy of MR-guided attenuation correction in hybrid PET/MR to enable quantitative PET imaging on hybrid PET/MR technologies. (author)

  15. Recommendations for processing atmospheric attenuated backscatter profiles from Vaisala CL31 ceilometers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotthaus, Simone; O'Connor, Ewan; Münkel, Christoph; Charlton-Perez, Cristina; Haeffelin, Martial; Gabey, Andrew M.; Grimmond, C. Sue B.

    2016-08-01

    Ceilometer lidars are used for cloud base height detection, to probe aerosol layers in the atmosphere (e.g. detection of elevated layers of Saharan dust or volcanic ash), and to examine boundary layer dynamics. Sensor optics and acquisition algorithms can strongly influence the observed attenuated backscatter profiles; therefore, physical interpretation of the profiles requires careful application of corrections. This study addresses the widely deployed Vaisala CL31 ceilometer. Attenuated backscatter profiles are studied to evaluate the impact of both the hardware generation and firmware version. In response to this work and discussion within the CL31/TOPROF user community (TOPROF, European COST Action aiming to harmonise ground-based remote sensing networks across Europe), Vaisala released new firmware (versions 1.72 and 2.03) for the CL31 sensors. These firmware versions are tested against previous versions, showing that several artificial features introduced by the data processing have been removed. Hence, it is recommended to use this recent firmware for analysing attenuated backscatter profiles. To allow for consistent processing of historic data, correction procedures have been developed that account for artefacts detected in data collected with older firmware. Furthermore, a procedure is proposed to determine and account for the instrument-related background signal from electronic and optical components. This is necessary for using attenuated backscatter observations from any CL31 ceilometer. Recommendations are made for the processing of attenuated backscatter observed with Vaisala CL31 sensors, including the estimation of noise which is not provided in the standard CL31 output. After taking these aspects into account, attenuated backscatter profiles from Vaisala CL31 ceilometers are considered capable of providing valuable information for a range of applications including atmospheric boundary layer studies, detection of elevated aerosol layers, and model

  16. Single photon emission computed tomography using a regularizing iterative method for attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soussaline, Francoise; Cao, A.; Lecoq, G.

    1981-06-01

    An analytically exact solution to the attenuated tomographic operator is proposed. Such a technique called Regularizing Iterative Method (RIM) belongs to the iterative class of procedures where a priori knowledge can be introduced on the evaluation of the size and shape of the activity domain to be reconstructed, and on the exact attenuation distribution. The relaxation factor used is so named because it leads to fast convergence and provides noise filtering for a small number of iteractions. The effectiveness of such a method was tested in the Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) reconstruction problem, with the goal of precise correction for attenuation before quantitative study. Its implementation involves the use of a rotating scintillation camera based SPECT detector connected to a mini computer system. Mathematical simulations of cylindical uniformly attenuated phantoms indicate that in the range of a priori calculated relaxation factor a fast converging solution can always be found with a (contrast) accuracy of the order of 0.2 to 4% given that numerical errors and noise are or not, taken into account. The sensitivity of the (RIM) algorithm to errors in the size of the reconstructed object and in the value of the attenuation coefficient μ was studied, using the same simulation data. Extreme variations of +- 15% in these parameters will lead to errors of the order of +- 20% in the quantitative results. Physical phantoms representing a variety of geometrical situations were also studied

  17. Cardiovascular Reactivity, Stress, and Physical Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chun-Jung eHuang

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Psychological stress has been proposed as a major contributor to the progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD. Acute mental stress can activate the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM axis, eliciting the release of catecholamines (NE and EPI resulting in the elevation of heart rate (HR and blood pressure (BP. Combined stress (psychological and physical can exacerbate these cardiovascular responses, which may partially contribute to the elevated risk of CVD and increased proportionate mortality risks experienced by some occupations (e.g., firefighting and law enforcement. Studies have supported the benefits of physical activity on physiological and psychological health, including the cardiovascular response to acute stress. Aerobically trained individuals exhibit lower sympathetic nervous system (e.g., HR reactivity and enhanced cardiovascular efficiency (e.g., lower vascular reactivity and decreased recovery time in response to physical and/or psychological stress. In addition, resistance training has been demonstrated to attenuate cardiovascular responses and improve mental health. This review will examine stress-induced cardiovascular reactivity and plausible explanations for how exercise training and physical fitness (aerobic and resistance exercise can attenuate cardiovascular responses to stress. This enhanced functionality may facilitate a reduction in the incidence of stroke and myocardial infarction. Finally, this review will also address the interaction of obesity and physical activity on cardiovascular reactivity and CVD.

  18. PET attenuation coefficients from CT images: experimental evaluation of the transformation of CT into PET 511-keV attenuation coefficients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burger, C; Goerres, G; Schoenes, S; Buck, A; Lonn, A H R; Von Schulthess, G K

    2002-07-01

    The CT data acquired in combined PET/CT studies provide a fast and essentially noiseless source for the correction of photon attenuation in PET emission data. To this end, the CT values relating to attenuation of photons in the range of 40-140 keV must be transformed into linear attenuation coefficients at the PET energy of 511 keV. As attenuation depends on photon energy and the absorbing material, an accurate theoretical relation cannot be devised. The transformation implemented in the Discovery LS PET/CT scanner (GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, Wis.) uses a bilinear function based on the attenuation of water and cortical bone at the CT and PET energies. The purpose of this study was to compare this transformation with experimental CT values and corresponding PET attenuation coefficients. In 14 patients, quantitative PET attenuation maps were calculated from germanium-68 transmission scans, and resolution-matched CT images were generated. A total of 114 volumes of interest were defined and the average PET attenuation coefficients and CT values measured. From the CT values the predicted PET attenuation coefficients were calculated using the bilinear transformation. When the transformation was based on the narrow-beam attenuation coefficient of water at 511 keV (0.096 cm(-1)), the predicted attenuation coefficients were higher in soft tissue than the measured values. This bias was reduced by replacing 0.096 cm(-1) in the transformation by the linear attenuation coefficient of 0.093 cm(-1) obtained from germanium-68 transmission scans. An analysis of the corrected emission activities shows that the resulting transformation is essentially equivalent to the transmission-based attenuation correction for human tissue. For non-human material, however, it may assign inaccurate attenuation coefficients which will also affect the correction in neighbouring tissue.

  19. Measured attenuation correction methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ostertag, H.; Kuebler, W.K.; Doll, J.; Lorenz, W.J.

    1989-01-01

    Accurate attenuation correction is a prerequisite for the determination of exact local radioactivity concentrations in positron emission tomography. Attenuation correction factors range from 4-5 in brain studies to 50-100 in whole body measurements. This report gives an overview of the different methods of determining the attenuation correction factors by transmission measurements using an external positron emitting source. The long-lived generator nuclide 68 Ge/ 68 Ga is commonly used for this purpose. The additional patient dose from the transmission source is usually a small fraction of the dose due to the subsequent emission measurement. Ring-shaped transmission sources as well as rotating point or line sources are employed in modern positron tomographs. By masking a rotating line or point source, random and scattered events in the transmission scans can be effectively suppressed. The problems of measured attenuation correction are discussed: Transmission/emission mismatch, random and scattered event contamination, counting statistics, transmission/emission scatter compensation, transmission scan after administration of activity to the patient. By using a double masking technique simultaneous emission and transmission scans become feasible. (orig.)

  20. Attenuation coefficients of soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martini, E.; Naziry, M.J.

    1989-01-01

    As a prerequisite to the interpretation of gamma-spectrometric in situ measurements of activity concentrations of soil radionuclides the attenuation of 60 to 1332 keV gamma radiation by soil samples varying in water content and density has been investigated. A useful empirical equation could be set up to describe the dependence of the mass attenuation coefficient upon photon energy for soil with a mean water content of 10%, with the results comparing well with data in the literature. The mean density of soil in the GDR was estimated at 1.6 g/cm 3 . This value was used to derive the linear attenuation coefficients, their range of variation being 10%. 7 figs., 5 tabs. (author)

  1. Using physical approaches for the attenuation of lactic acid bacteria in an organic rice beverage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bevilacqua, Antonio; Casanova, Francesco Pio; Petruzzi, Leonardo; Sinigaglia, Milena; Corbo, Maria Rosaria

    2016-02-01

    A wild strain of Lactobacillus plantarum, isolated from an Italian sourdough, was inoculated in an organic rice drink; however, it caused a strong acidification. Thus, it was preliminary processed through homogenization (single or multiple passes) or sonication (US) and then inoculated in the beverage. The samples were stored at 4 °C and analyzed to assess pH, production of lactic acid, viable count and sensory scores. A US-2-step process (power, 80%) could control acidification; viability and sensory traits were never affected by sonication. This result was confirmed on two commercial probiotics (Lactobacillus casei LC01 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb12). In the 2nd step samples inoculated with attenuated strains were also stored under thermal abuse conditions (25 or 37 °C for 4 or 24 h, then at 4 °C) and the results showed that US could control acidification for a short thermal abuse. Finally, US-attenuated starter cultures were inoculated in the rice drink containing β-glucans as healthy compounds; the targets did not cause any significant change of prebiotic. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Computer-controlled attenuator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitov, D; Grozev, Z

    1991-01-01

    Various possibilities for applying electronic computer-controlled attenuators for the automation of physiological experiments are considered. A detailed description is given of the design of a 4-channel computer-controlled attenuator, in two of the channels of which the output signal can change by a linear step, in the other two channels--by a logarithmic step. This, together with the existence of additional programmable timers, allows to automate a wide range of studies in different spheres of physiology and psychophysics, including vision and hearing.

  3. Introduction to radiological physics and radiation dosimetry

    CERN Document Server

    Attix, Frank Herbert

    2004-01-01

    A straightforward presentation of the broad concepts underlying radiological physics and radiation dosimetry for the graduate-level student. Covers photon and neutron attenuation, radiation and charged particle equilibrium, interactions of photons and charged particles with matter, radiotherapy dosimetry, as well as photographic, calorimetric, chemical, and thermoluminescence dosimetry. Includes many new derivations, such as Kramers X-ray spectrum, as well as topics that have not been thoroughly analyzed in other texts, such as broad-beam attenuation and geometrics, and the reciprocity theorem

  4. Ultrasound fields in an attenuating medium

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Arendt; Gandhi,, D; O'Brien,, W.D., Jr.

    1993-01-01

    of the rectangles and sums all contributions to arrive at the spatial impulse response for the aperture and field point. This approach makes it possible to model all transducer apertures, and the program can readily calculate the emitted, pulse-echo and continuous wave field. Attenuation is included by splitting...... it into a frequency dependent part and frequency independent part. The latter results in an attenuation factor that is multiplied onto the responses from the individual elements, and the frequency dependent part is handled by attenuating the basic one-dimensional pulse. The influence on ultrasound fields from......Ultrasound fields propagating in tissue will undergo changes in shape not only due to diffraction, but also due to the frequency dependent attenuation. Linear fields can be fairly well predicted for a non-attenuating medium like water by using the Tupholme-Stepanishen method for calculating...

  5. Attenuation in Superconducting Circular Waveguides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. H. Yeap

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available We present an analysis on wave propagation in superconducting circular waveguides. In order to account for the presence of quasiparticles in the intragap states of a superconductor, we employ the characteristic equation derived from the extended Mattis-Bardeen theory to compute the values of the complex conductivity. To calculate the attenuation in a circular waveguide, the tangential fields at the boundary of the wall are first matched with the electrical properties (which includes the complex conductivity of the wall material. The matching of fields with the electrical properties results in a set of transcendental equations which is able to accurately describe the propagation constant of the fields. Our results show that although the attenuation in the superconducting waveguide above cutoff (but below the gap frequency is finite, it is considerably lower than that in a normal waveguide. Above the gap frequency, however, the attenuation in the superconducting waveguide increases sharply. The attenuation eventually surpasses that in a normal waveguide. As frequency increases above the gap frequency, Cooper pairs break into quasiparticles. Hence, we attribute the sharp rise in attenuation to the increase in random collision of the quasiparticles with the lattice structure.

  6. Radiofrequency attenuator and method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warner, Benjamin P [Los Alamos, NM; McCleskey, T Mark [Los Alamos, NM; Burrell, Anthony K [Los Alamos, NM; Agrawal, Anoop [Tucson, AZ; Hall, Simon B [Palmerston North, NZ

    2009-01-20

    Radiofrequency attenuator and method. The attenuator includes a pair of transparent windows. A chamber between the windows is filled with molten salt. Preferred molten salts include quarternary ammonium cations and fluorine-containing anions such as tetrafluoroborate (BF.sub.4.sup.-), hexafluorophosphate (PF.sub.6.sup.-), hexafluoroarsenate (AsF.sub.6.sup.-), trifluoromethylsulfonate (CF.sub.3SO.sub.3.sup.-), bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ((CF.sub.3SO.sub.2).sub.2N.sup.-), bis(perfluoroethylsulfonyl)imide ((CF.sub.3CF.sub.2SO.sub.2).sub.2N.sup.-) and tris(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)methide ((CF.sub.3SO.sub.2).sub.3C.sup.-). Radicals or radical cations may be added to or electrochemically generated in the molten salt to enhance the RF attenuation.

  7. Application of the gamma-ray attenuation technique to forest sciences in Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rezende, Marcos Antonio de; Costa, Vladimir Eliodoro; Bruder, Edson Marcelo

    2005-01-01

    The study of the physical characteristics of wood is fundamental to its correct utilization by the industry and to an efficient exploitation of this raw material. The most important characteristics of wood are the specific gravity, the shrinkage and the porosity. Those traits are related one to each other and to mechanic resistance and hygroscopicity. The present work proposes the utilization of the gamma-ray attenuation technique, through a sealed source of the radioisotope 241 Am with an activity of 7.4 GBq and an energy of 60 keV, to the determination of physical characteristics of the wood of Pinus tecunumannii, Liquidambar styraciflua and Eucalyptus grandis from cultivated fields of Duratex S/A, in Agudos, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. This work presents the advantages and the facilities of the utilization of this technique in the qualitative and quantitative study of the wood from reforestation fields. This technique is employed to determine the specific gravity of a material through the attenuation of gamma-ray after crossing a sample of uniform thickness. Results revealed superior quality of wood to the species L. styraciflua, followed by E. grandis. Considerable variation in the physical properties of the sample of P. tecunumannii was observed along the radial sense, indicating that this species is highly responsive to climatic factors. The more uniform wood of E. grandis and L. styraciflua suggest that these species may be more adapted to the climatic conditions of the Sao Paulo State than P. tecunumannii. (author)

  8. Pramana – Journal of Physics | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics. N Ramachandran. Articles written in Pramana – Journal of Physics. Volume 67 Issue 3 September 2006 pp 501-506 Research Articles. Simulated mixed absorbers and effective atomic numbers for attenuation · K Karunakaran Nair N Ramachandran K K Abdullah K M Varier.

  9. Physical activity attenuates the genetic predisposition to obesity in 20,000 men and women from EPIC-Norfolk prospective population study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shengxu Li

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available We have previously shown that multiple genetic loci identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS increase the susceptibility to obesity in a cumulative manner. It is, however, not known whether and to what extent this genetic susceptibility may be attenuated by a physically active lifestyle. We aimed to assess the influence of a physically active lifestyle on the genetic predisposition to obesity in a large population-based study.We genotyped 12 SNPs in obesity-susceptibility loci in a population-based sample of 20,430 individuals (aged 39-79 y from the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC-Norfolk cohort with an average follow-up period of 3.6 y. A genetic predisposition score was calculated for each individual by adding the body mass index (BMI-increasing alleles across the 12 SNPs. Physical activity was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Linear and logistic regression models were used to examine main effects of the genetic predisposition score and its interaction with physical activity on BMI/obesity risk and BMI change over time, assuming an additive effect for each additional BMI-increasing allele carried. Each additional BMI-increasing allele was associated with 0.154 (standard error [SE] 0.012 kg/m(2 (p = 6.73 x 10(-37 increase in BMI (equivalent to 445 g in body weight for a person 1.70 m tall. This association was significantly (p(interaction = 0.005 more pronounced in inactive people (0.205 [SE 0.024] kg/m(2 [p = 3.62 x 10(-18; 592 g in weight] than in active people (0.131 [SE 0.014] kg/m(2 [p = 7.97 x 10(-21; 379 g in weight]. Similarly, each additional BMI-increasing allele increased the risk of obesity 1.116-fold (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.093-1.139, p = 3.37 x 10(-26 in the whole population, but significantly (p(interaction = 0.015 more in inactive individuals (odds ratio [OR] = 1.158 [95% CI 1.118-1.199; p = 1.93 x 10(-16] than in active individuals (OR = 1.095 (95% CI 1.068-1.123; p = 1

  10. Physics for radiation protection

    CERN Document Server

    Martin, James E

    2013-01-01

    A much-needed working resource for health physicists and other radiation protection professionals, this volume presents clear, thorough, up-to-date explanations of the basic physics necessary to address real-world problems in radiation protection. Designed for readers with limited as well as basic science backgrounds, Physics for Radiation Protection emphasizes applied concepts and carefully illustrates all topics through examples as well as practice problems. Physics for Radiation Protection draws substantially on current resource data available for health physics use, providing decay schemes and emission energies for approximately 100 of the most common radionuclides encountered by practitioners. Excerpts of the Chart of the Nuclides, activation cross sections, fission yields, fission-product chains, photon attenuation coefficients, and nuclear masses are also provided.

  11. Maximum likelihood estimation of the attenuated ultrasound pulse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Klaus Bolding

    1994-01-01

    The attenuated ultrasound pulse is divided into two parts: a stationary basic pulse and a nonstationary attenuation pulse. A standard ARMA model is used for the basic pulse, and a nonstandard ARMA model is derived for the attenuation pulse. The maximum likelihood estimator of the attenuated...

  12. Elastic Dispersion and Attenuation in Fully Saturated Sandstones: Role of Mineral Content, Porosity, and Pressures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pimienta, Lucas; Borgomano, Jan V. M.; Fortin, Jérôme; Guéguen, Yves

    2017-12-01

    Because measuring the frequency dependence of elastic properties in the laboratory is a technical challenge, not enough experimental data exist to test the existing theories. We report measurements of three fluid-saturated sandstones over a broad frequency band: Wilkenson, Berea, and Bentheim sandstones. Those sandstones samples, chosen for their variable porosities and mineral content, are saturated by fluids of varying viscosities. The samples elastic response (Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio) and hydraulic response (fluid flow out of the sample) are measured as a function of frequency. Large dispersion and attenuation phenomena are observed over the investigated frequency range. For all samples, the variation at lowest frequency relates to a large fluid flow directly measured out of the rock samples. These are the cause (i.e., fluid flow) and consequence (i.e., dispersion/attenuation) of the transition between drained and undrained regimes. Consistently, the characteristic frequency correlates with permeability for each sandstone. Beyond this frequency, a second variation is observed for all samples, but the rocks behave differently. For Berea sandstone, an onset of dispersion/attenuation is expected from both Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio at highest frequency. For Bentheim and Wilkenson sandstones, however, only Young's modulus shows dispersion/attenuation phenomena. For Wilkenson sandstone, the viscoelastic-like dispersion/attenuation response is interpreted as squirt flow. For Bentheim sandstone, the second effect does not fully follow such response, which could be due to a lower accuracy in the measured attenuation or to the occurence of another physical effect in this rock sample.

  13. Snowpack snow water equivalent measurement using the attenuation of cosmic gamma radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osterhuber, R.; Condreva, K.

    1998-01-01

    Incoming, background cosmic radiation constantly fluxes through the earth's atmosphere. The high energy gamma portion of this radiation penetrates many terrestrial objects, including the winter snowpack. The attenuation of this radiation is exponentially related to the mass of the medium through which it penetrates. For the past three winters, a device measuring cosmic gamma radiation--and its attenuation through snow--has been installed at the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, near Donner Pass, California. This gamma sensor, measuring energy levels between 5 and 15 MeV, has proved to be an accurate, reliable, non-invasive, non-mechanical instrument with which to measure the total snow water equivalent of a snowpack. This paper analyzes three winters' worth of data and discusses the physics and practical application of the sensor for the collection of snow water equivalent data from a remote location

  14. Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? A harmonised meta-analysis of data from more than 1 million men and women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekelund, Ulf; Steene-Johannessen, Jostein; Brown, Wendy J; Fagerland, Morten Wang; Owen, Neville; Powell, Kenneth E; Bauman, Adrian; Lee, I-Min

    2016-09-24

    High amounts of sedentary behaviour have been associated with increased risks of several chronic conditions and mortality. However, it is unclear whether physical activity attenuates or even eliminates the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting. We examined the associations of sedentary behaviour and physical activity with all-cause mortality. We did a systematic review, searching six databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, Web of Science, Sport Discus, and Scopus) from database inception until October, 2015, for prospective cohort studies that had individual level exposure and outcome data, provided data on both daily sitting or TV-viewing time and physical activity, and reported effect estimates for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, or breast, colon, and colorectal cancer mortality. We included data from 16 studies, of which 14 were identified through a systematic review and two were additional unpublished studies where pertinent data were available. All study data were analysed according to a harmonised protocol, which categorised reported daily sitting time and TV-viewing time into four standardised groups each, and physical activity into quartiles (in metabolic equivalent of task [MET]-hours per week). We then combined data across all studies to analyse the association of daily sitting time and physical activity with all-cause mortality, and estimated summary hazard ratios using Cox regression. We repeated these analyses using TV-viewing time instead of daily sitting time. Of the 16 studies included in the meta-analysis, 13 studies provided data on sitting time and all-cause mortality. These studies included 1 005 791 individuals who were followed up for 2-18·1 years, during which 84 609 (8·4%) died. Compared with the referent group (ie, those sitting 35·5 MET-h per week]), mortality rates during follow-up were 12-59% higher in the two lowest quartiles of physical activity (from HR=1·12, 95% CI 1·08-1·16, for the second lowest

  15. Compensation for nonuniform attenuation in SPECT brain imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glick, S.J.; King, M.A.; Pan, T.S.; Soares, E.J.

    1996-01-01

    Accurate compensation for photon attenuation is needed to perform quantitative brain single-photon-emission computed tomographic (SPECT) imaging. Bellini's attenuation-compensation method has been used with a nonuniform attenuation map to account for the nonuniform attenuation properties of the head. Simulation studies using a three-dimensional (3-D) digitized anthropomorphic brain phantom were conducted to compare quantitative accuracy of reconstructions obtained with the nonuniform Bellini method to that obtained with the Chang method and to iterative reconstruction using maximum-likelihood expectation maximization (ML-EM). Using the Chang method and assuming the head to be a uniform attenuator gave reconstructions with an average bias of approximately 6-8%, whereas using the Bellini or the iterative ML-EM method with a nonuniform attenuation map gave an average bias of approximately 1%. The computation time required to implement nonuniform attenuation compensation with the Bellini algorithm is approximately equivalent to the time required to perform one iteration of ML-EM. Thus, using the Bellini method with a nonuniform attenuation map provides accurate compensation for photon attenuation within the head, and the method can be implemented in computation times suitable for routine clinical use

  16. Pramana – Journal of Physics | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics. K K Abdullah. Articles written in Pramana – Journal of Physics. Volume 67 Issue 3 September 2006 pp 501-506 Research Articles. Simulated mixed absorbers and effective atomic numbers for attenuation · K Karunakaran Nair N Ramachandran K K Abdullah K M Varier.

  17. Attenuation of Vrancea events revisited

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Radulian, M.; Popa, M.; Grecu, B.; Panza, G.F.

    2003-11-01

    New aspects of the frequency-dependent attenuation of the seismic waves traveling from Vrancea subcrustal sources toward NW (Transylvanian Basin) and SE (Romanian Plain) are evidenced by the recent experimental data made available by the CALIXTO'99 tomography experiment. The observations validate the previous theoretical computations performed for the assessment, by means of a deterministic approach, of the seismic hazard in Romania. They reveal an essential aspect of the seismic ground motion attenuation, that has important implications on the probabilistic assessment of seismic hazard from Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes. The attenuation toward NW is shown to be a much stronger frequency-dependent effect than the attenuation toward SE and the seismic hazard computed by the deterministic approach fits satisfactorily well the observed ground motion distribution in the low-frequency band (< 1 Hz). The apparent contradiction with the historically-based intensity maps arises mainly from a systematic difference in the vulnerability (buildings eigenperiod) of the buildings in the intra- and extra-Carpathians regions. (author)

  18. Haloperidol Disrupts Opioid-Antinociceptive Tolerance and Physical Dependence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Cheng; Chen, Yan; Tang, Lei

    2011-01-01

    Previous studies from our laboratory and others have implicated a critical role of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) in opioid tolerance and dependence. Translational research targeting the CaMKII pathway is challenging, if not impossible, because of a lack of selective inhibitors. We discovered in a preliminary study that haloperidol, a butyrophenone antipsychotic drug, inhibited CaMKII, which led us to hypothesize that haloperidol can attenuate opioid tolerance and dependence by inhibiting CaMKII. The hypothesis was tested in two rodent models of opioid tolerance and dependence. Pretreatment with haloperidol (0.2–1.0 mg/kg i.p.) prevented the development of morphine tolerance and dependence in a dose-dependent manner. Short-term treatment with haloperidol (0.06–0.60 mg/kg i.p.) dose-dependently reversed the established morphine-antinociceptive tolerance and physical dependence. Correlating with behavioral effects, pretreatment or short-term treatment with haloperidol dose-dependently inhibited morphine-induced up-regulation of supraspinal and spinal CaMKIIα activity. Moreover, haloperidol given orally was also effective in attenuating morphine-induced CaMKIIα activity, antinociceptive tolerance, and physical dependence. Taken together, these data suggest that haloperidol attenuates opioid tolerance and dependence by suppressing CaMKII activity. Because haloperidol is a clinically used drug that can be taken orally, we propose that the drug may be of use in attenuating opioid tolerance and dependence. PMID:21436292

  19. Determination of the attenuation map in emission tomography

    CERN Document Server

    Zaidi, H

    2002-01-01

    Reliable attenuation correction methods for quantitative emission computed tomography (ECT) require accurate delineation of the body contour and often necessitate knowledge of internal anatomical structure. Two broad classes of methods have been used to calculate the attenuation map referred to as "transmissionless" and transmission-based attenuation correction techniques. While calculated attenuation correction belonging to the first class of methods is appropriate for brain studies, more adequate methods must be performed in clinical applications where the attenuation coefficient distribution is not known a priori, and for areas of inhomogeneous attenuation such as the chest. Measured attenuation correction overcomes this problem and utilizes different approaches to determine this map including transmission scanning, segmented magnetic resonance images or appropriately scaled X-ray CT scans acquired either independently on separate or simultaneously on multimodality imaging systems. Combination of data acqu...

  20. An acoustic eikonal equation for attenuating VTI media

    KAUST Repository

    Hao, Qi

    2016-09-06

    We present an acoustic eikonal equation governing the complex-valued travel time of P-waves in attenuating, transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI). This equation is based on the assumption that the Pwave complex-valued travel time is independent of the Swave velocity parameter v in Thomsen\\'s notation and the attenuation coefficient A in the Thomsen-type notation for attenuating VTI media. We combine perturbation theory and Shanks transform to develop practical approximations to the attenuating acoustic eikonal equation, capable of admitting analytical description of the attenuation in homogeneous media. For a horizontal, attenuating VTI layer, we also derive non-hyperbolic approximations for the real and imaginary parts of the complex-valued reflection travel time.

  1. Ultrasonic attenuation in superconducting zinc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auluck, S.

    1978-01-01

    The differences in the Zn ultrasonic attenuation data of different workers are analyzed. The superconducting energy gaps deduced from our analysis of the ultrasonic-attenuation data of Cleavelin and Marshall are consistent with the gaps deduced from the knowledge of the Fermi surface and the electron-phonon mass enhancement factor

  2. Treadmill exercise attenuates the severity of physical dependence, anxiety, depressive-like behavior and voluntary morphine consumption in morphine withdrawn rats receiving methadone maintenance treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alizadeh, Maryam; Zahedi-Khorasani, Mahdi; Miladi-Gorji, Hossein

    2018-05-30

    This study was designed to examine whether treadmill exercise would attenuate the severity of physical dependence, methadone-induced anxiety, depression and voluntary morphine consumption in morphine withdrawn rats receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). The rats were chronically treated with bi-daily doses (10 mg/kg, at 12 h intervals) of morphine for 14 days. The exercising rats receiving MMT were forced to run on a motorized treadmill for 30 days during morphine withdrawal. Then, rats were tested for the severity of morphine dependence, the elevated plus-maze (EPM), sucrose preference test (SPT) and voluntary morphine consumption using a two-bottle choice (TBC) paradigm. The results showed that naloxone- precipitated opioid withdrawal signs were decreased in exercising morphine-dependent rats receiving MMT than sedentary rats. Also, the exercising morphine-dependent rats receiving MMT exhibited an increased time on open arms, preference for sucrose and a lower morphine preference ratio than sedentary rats. We conclude that treadmill exercise decreased the severity of physical dependence, anxiety/depressive-like behaviors and also the voluntary morphine consumption in morphine withdrawn rats receiving MMT. Thus, exercise may benefit in the treatment of addicts during MMT. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. ENHANCEMENTS TO NATURAL ATTENUATION: SELECTED CASE STUDIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vangelas, K; W. H. Albright, W; E. S. Becvar, E; C. H. Benson, C; T. O. Early, T; E. Hood, E; P. M. Jardine, P; M. Lorah, M; E. Majche, E; D. Major, D; W. J. Waugh, W; G. Wein, G; O. R. West, O

    2007-05-15

    In 2003 the US Department of Energy (DOE) embarked on a project to explore an innovative approach to remediation of subsurface contaminant plumes that focused on introducing mechanisms for augmenting natural attenuation to achieve site closure. Termed enhanced attenuation (EA), this approach has drawn its inspiration from the concept of monitored natural attenuation (MNA).

  4. Transport and attenuation of radiations

    CERN Document Server

    Nimal, J C

    2003-01-01

    This article treats of the calculation methods used for the dimensioning of the protections against radiations. The method consists in determining for a given point the flux of particles coming from a source at a given time. A strong attenuation (of about some few mu Sv.h sup - sup 1) is in general expected between the source and the areas accessible to the personnel or the public. The calculation has to take into account a huge number of radiation-matter interactions and to solve the integral-differential transport equation which links the particles flux to the source. Several methods exist from the simplified physical model with numerical developments to the more or less precise resolution of the transport equation. These methods allows also the calculation of the uncertainties of equivalent dose rates, heat sources, structure damages using the data covariances (efficient cross-sections, modeling, etc..): 1 - transport equation; 2 - Monte-Carlo method; 3 - semi-numerical methods S sub N; 4 - methods based o...

  5. Underwater image enhancement based on the dark channel prior and attenuation compensation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Qingwen; Xue, Lulu; Tang, Ruichun; Guo, Lingrui

    2017-10-01

    Aimed at the two problems of underwater imaging, fog effect and color cast, an Improved Segmentation Dark Channel Prior (ISDCP) defogging method is proposed to solve the fog effects caused by physical properties of water. Due to mass refraction of light in the process of underwater imaging, fog effects would lead to image blurring. And color cast is closely related to different degree of attenuation while light with different wavelengths is traveling in water. The proposed method here integrates the ISDCP and quantitative histogram stretching techniques into the image enhancement procedure. Firstly, the threshold value is set during the refinement process of the transmission maps to identify the original mismatching, and to conduct the differentiated defogging process further. Secondly, a method of judging the propagating distance of light is adopted to get the attenuation degree of energy during the propagation underwater. Finally, the image histogram is stretched quantitatively in Red-Green-Blue channel respectively according to the degree of attenuation in each color channel. The proposed method ISDCP can reduce the computational complexity and improve the efficiency in terms of defogging effect to meet the real-time requirements. Qualitative and quantitative comparison for several different underwater scenes reveals that the proposed method can significantly improve the visibility compared with previous methods.

  6. Self-attenuation factors in gamma-ray spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korun, M.

    1999-01-01

    The relation between the self-attenuation factors and the distribution function describing the number of photons detected in the full-energy peaks, as a function of their path length in the sample is presented. The relations between the self-attenuation factor and the moments of the distribution function, the average path length and the variance are also presented. The use of these relations is illustrated by applying them to self-attenuation factors describing attenuation in cylindrical samples. The results of the calculations are compared with the measured average path lengths and discussed in terms of the properties of the distribution function. (author)

  7. Cross-shore gradients of physical disturbance in mangroves: implications for seedling establishment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Balke, T.; Bouma, T.; Herman, P.M.J.; Horstman, E.M.; Sudtongkong, C.; Webb, E.L.

    2013-01-01

    Mangroves may grow in an active sedimentary environment and are therefore closely linked to physical coastal processes. Seedlings colonize dynamic tidal flats, after which mangroves have the potential to change their physical environment by attenuating hydrodynamic energy and trapping sediments.

  8. Light attenuation in estuarine mangrove lakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frankovich, Thomas A.; Rudnick, David T.; Fourqurean, James W.

    2017-01-01

    Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) cover has declined in brackish lakes in the southern Everglades characterized by low water transparencies, emphasizing the need to evaluate the suitability of the aquatic medium for SAV growth and to identify the light attenuating components that contribute most to light attenuation. Underwater attenuation of downwards irradiance of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was determined over a three year period at 42 sites in shallow (freshwater flow into these areas may dilute CDOM concentrations and improve the salinity and light climate for SAV communities.

  9. Believing and perceiving: authorship belief modulates sensory attenuation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Desantis

    Full Text Available Sensory attenuation refers to the observation that self-generated stimuli are attenuated, both in terms of their phenomenology and their cortical response compared to the same stimuli when generated externally. Accordingly, it has been assumed that sensory attenuation might help individuals to determine whether a sensory event was caused by themselves or not. In the present study, we investigated whether this dependency is reciprocal, namely whether sensory attenuation is modulated by prior beliefs of authorship. Participants had to judge the loudness of auditory effects that they believed were either self-generated or triggered by another person. However, in reality, the sounds were always triggered by the participants' actions. Participants perceived the tones' loudness attenuated when they believed that the sounds were self-generated compared to when they believed that they were generated by another person. Sensory attenuation is considered to contribute to the emergence of people's belief of authorship. Our results suggest that sensory attenuation is also a consequence of prior belief about the causal link between an action and a sensory change in the environment.

  10. Radiation-attenuated vaccine for lungworm disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, C.M.

    1977-01-01

    The work done at the Indian Veternary Research Institute, Izatnagar, on the development of a vaccine for lungworm diseases is reported. Research work done includes: (1) studies on the epidemiology and the incidence of the lungworm infections, (ii) studies on the radiation-attenuated lungworm Dictyocaulus filaria vaccine, (iii) studies on other parasites using ionizing radiation, (iv) incidence of lungworm infection in sheep in Jammu and Kashmir State, (v) suitable dose of gamma radiation for attenuation, (vi) laboratory studies with radiation-attenuated D. filaria vaccine, (vii) serology of D. filaria infection, (viii) field trials with the radiation-attenuated vaccine, (ix) immune response of previously exposed lambs to vaccination, (x) comparative susceptibility of sheep and goats to infection with D. filaria, (xi) quantitative studies of D. filaria in lambs and (xii) production and supply of lungworm vaccine. (A.K.)

  11. Analysis of biological samples by x-ray attenuation measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cesareo, R.

    1988-01-01

    Over the last few years there has been an increasing interest in X-ray attenuation measurements, mainly due to the enormous development of computer assisted tomography (CAT). With CAT, analytical information concerning the density and the mean atomic number distributions in a sample is deduced from a large number of attenuation measurements. Particular transmission methods developed, based on the differential attenuation method are discussed. The theoretical background for attenuation of radiation and for differential attenuation of radiation is given. Details about the generation of monoenergetic X-rays are discussed. Applications of attenuation measurements in the field of Medicine are presented

  12. Unfocused beam patterns in nonattenuating and attenuating fluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldstein, Albert

    2004-01-01

    The most important aspect of an ultrasound measuring system is knowledge of the transducer beam pattern. At all depths accurate single integral equations have been derived for the full beam pattern of steady state unfocused circular flat piston sources radiating into nonattenuating and attenuating fluids. The axial depth of the beginning of the unattenuated beam pattern far field is found to be at 6.41Y 0 . The unattenuated single integral equations are identical to a Jinc function directivity term at this and deeper depths. For attenuating fluids values of α and z are found that permit the attenuated axial pressure to be represented by a plane wave multiplicative exponential attenuation factor. This knowledge will aid in the experimental design of highly accurate attenuation measurements. Accurate single integral equations for the attenuated full beam pattern are derived using complex Bessel functions

  13. Attenuation correction for brain PET imaging using deep neural network based on dixon and ZTE MR images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Kuang; Yang, Jaewon; Kim, Kyungsang; El Fakhri, Georges; Seo, Youngho; Li, Quanzheng

    2018-05-23

    Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a functional imaging modality widely used in neuroscience studies. To obtain meaningful quantitative results from PET images, attenuation correction is necessary during image reconstruction. For PET/MR hybrid systems, PET attenuation is challenging as Magnetic Resonance (MR) images do not reflect attenuation coefficients directly. To address this issue, we present deep neural network methods to derive the continuous attenuation coefficients for brain PET imaging from MR images. With only Dixon MR images as the network input, the existing U-net structure was adopted and analysis using forty patient data sets shows it is superior than other Dixon based methods. When both Dixon and zero echo time (ZTE) images are available, we have proposed a modified U-net structure, named GroupU-net, to efficiently make use of both Dixon and ZTE information through group convolution modules when the network goes deeper. Quantitative analysis based on fourteen real patient data sets demonstrates that both network approaches can perform better than the standard methods, and the proposed network structure can further reduce the PET quantification error compared to the U-net structure. © 2018 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.

  14. Obtaining the mass attenuation coefficient of the wood to a beam of gamma-ray of 241Am

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, Vladimir Eliodoro; Rezende, Marcos Antonio de

    2009-01-01

    Full text: The quality of wood produced in Brazil reforestation has been the subject of many discussions in the Forestry Sector. SeEKXing to produce a rapid growth and wood quality, the Forestry Sector, found in Applied Nuclear Physics, a precise method of determining the density of wood known as ad hoc technique of attenuation of gamma-ray. The radioisotope used in this technique is that it has a picture 241 Am peak of 59.6 keV gamma-ray. This work has the objective of determining the mass attenuation coefficient of wood of the genus Eucalyptus for 241 Am radioisotope. We used 324 samples of wood from six different treatments: a seminal of Eucalyptus grandis; two clones of E. grandis; three clones of the hybrid E. grandis x E. urophylla. The same assay was used for the six treatments. It was determined the basic density of the samples by the method of immersion in water and then the basic density was converted into apparent density in the moisture equilibrium and it was determined the attenuation coefficient of mass. Preliminary results showed that the attenuation coefficient of mass did not vary between treatments, and its average value 0.1822 ± 0.0015. It was to here that the attenuation coefficient of mass in the wood of the genus Eucalyptus in moisture equilibrium can be constant. (author)

  15. Fuselage panel noise attenuation by piezoelectric switching control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Makihara, Kanjuro; Onoda, Junjiro; Minesugi, Kenji; Miyakawa, Takeya

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes a problem that we encountered in our noise attenuation project and our solution for it. We intend to attenuate low-frequency noise that transmits through aircraft fuselage panels. Our method of noise attenuation is implemented with a piezoelectric semi-active system having a selective switch instead of an active energy-supply system. The semi-active controller is based on the predicted sound pressure distribution obtained from acoustic emission analysis. Experiments and numerical simulations demonstrate that the semi-active method attenuates acoustic levels of not only the simple monochromatic noise but also of broadband noise. We reveal that tuning the electrical parameters in the circuit is the key to effective noise attenuation, to overcome the acoustic excitation problem due to sharp switching actions, as well as to control chattering problems. The results obtained from this investigation provide meaningful insights into designing noise attenuation systems for comfortable aircraft cabin environments

  16. Use of calibration standards and the correction for sample self-attenuation in gamma-ray nondestructive assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, J.L.

    1984-08-01

    The efficient use of appropriate calibration standards and the correction for the attenuation of the gamma rays within an assay sample by the sample itself are two important and closely related subjects in gamma-ray nondestructive assay. Much research relating to those subjects has been done in the Nuclear Safeguards Research and Development program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1970. This report brings together most of the significant results of that research. Also discussed are the nature of appropriate calibration standards and the necessary conditions on the composition, size, and shape of the samples to allow accurate assays. Procedures for determining the correction for the sample self-attenuation are described at length including both general principles and several specific useful cases. The most useful concept is that knowing the linear attenuation coefficient of the sample (which can usually be determined) and the size and shape of the sample and its position relative to the detector permits the computation of the correction factor for the self-attenuation. A major objective of the report is to explain how the procedures for determining the self-attenuation correction factor can be applied so that calibration standards can be entirely appropriate without being particularly similar, either physically or chemically, to the items to be assayed. This permits minimization of the number of standards required to assay items with a wide range of size, shape, and chemical composition. 17 references, 18 figures, 2 tables

  17. Elastic wave attenuation in rocks containing fluids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berryman, J.G.

    1986-01-01

    The low-frequency limit of Biot's theory of fluid-saturated porous media predicts that the coefficients for viscous attenuation of shear waves and of the fast compressional wave are proportional to the fluid permeability. Although the observed attenuation is generally in qualitative agreement with the theory, the magnitude of the observed attenuation coefficient in rocks is often more than an order of magnitude higher than expected. This apparent dilemma can be resolved without invoking other attenuation mechanisms if the intrinsic permeability of the rock is inhomogeneous and varies widely in magnitude. A simple calculation of the overall behavior of a layered porous material using local-flow Biot theory shows that the effective permeability for attenuation is the mean of the constituent permeabilities while the effective permeability for fluid flow is the harmonic mean. When the range of variation in the local permeability is one or more orders of magnitude, this difference in averaging method can easily explain some of the observed discrepancies

  18. Evaluation of downwelling diffuse attenuation coefficient algorithms in the Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Tiwari, Surya Prakash

    2016-05-07

    Despite the importance of the optical properties such as the downwelling diffuse attenuation coefficient for characterizing the upper water column, until recently no in situ optical measurements were published for the Red Sea. Kirby et al. used observations from the Coastal Zone Color Scanner to characterize the spatial and temporal variability of the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd(490)) in the Red Sea. To better understand optical variability and its utility in the Red Sea, it is imperative to comprehend the diffuse attenuation coefficient and its relationship with in situ properties. Two apparent optical properties, spectral remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) and the downwelling diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd), are calculated from vertical profile measurements of downwelling irradiance (Ed) and upwelling radiance (Lu). Kd characterizes light penetration into water column that is important for understanding both the physical and biogeochemical environment, including water quality and the health of ocean environment. Our study tests the performance of the existing Kd(490) algorithms in the Red Sea and compares them against direct in situ measurements within various subdivisions of the Red Sea. Most standard algorithms either overestimated or underestimated with the measured in situ values of Kd. Consequently, these algorithms provided poor retrieval of Kd(490) for the Red Sea. Random errors were high for all algorithms and the correlation coefficients (r2) with in situ measurements were quite low. Hence, these algorithms may not be suitable for the Red Sea. Overall, statistical analyses of the various algorithms indicated that the existing algorithms are inadequate for the Red Sea. The present study suggests that reparameterizing existing algorithms or developing new regional algorithms is required to improve retrieval of Kd(490) for the Red Sea. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is

  19. Estimating Rain Attenuation In Satellite Communication Links

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manning, R. M.

    1991-01-01

    Attenuation computed with help of statistical model and meteorological data. NASA Lewis Research Center Satellite Link Attenuation Model (SLAM) program QuickBASIC computer program evaluating static and dynamic statistical assessment of impact of rain attenuation on communication link established between Earth terminal and geosynchronous satellite. Application in specification, design, and assessment of satellite communication links for any terminal location in continental United States. Written in Microsoft QuickBASIC.

  20. An acoustic eikonal equation for attenuating orthorhombic media

    KAUST Repository

    Hao, Qi

    2017-04-06

    Attenuating orthorhombic models are often used to describe the azimuthal variation of the seismic wave velocity and amplitude in finely layered hydrocarbon reservoirs with vertical fractures. In addition to the P-wave related medium parameters, shear wave parameters are also present in the complex eikonal equation needed to describe the P-wave complex-valued traveltime in an attenuating orthorhombic medium, which increases the complexity of using the P-wave traveltime to invert for the medium parameters in practice. Here, we use the acoustic assumption to derive an acoustic eikonal equation that approximately governs the complex-valued traveltime of P-waves in an attenuating orthorhombic medium. For a homogeneous attenuating orthorhombic media, we solve the eikonal equation using a combination of the perturbation method and Shanks transform. For a horizontal attenuating orthorhombic layer, both the real and imaginary part of the complex-valued reflection traveltime have nonhyperbolic behaviors in terms of the source-receiver offset. Similar to the roles of normal moveout (NMO) velocity and anellipticity, the attenuation NMO velocity and the attenuation anellipticity characterize the variation of the imaginary part of the complex-valued reflection traveltime around zero source-receiver offset.

  1. Development of a human live attenuated West Nile infectious DNA vaccine: Suitability of attenuating mutations found in SA14-14-2 for WN vaccine design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamshchikov, Vladimir, E-mail: yaximik@gmail.com; Manuvakhova, Marina; Rodriguez, Efrain

    2016-01-15

    Direct attenuation of West Nile (WN) virus strain NY99 for the purpose of vaccine development is not feasible due to its high virulence and pathogenicity. Instead, we created highly attenuated chimeric virus W1806 with the serological identity of NY99. To further attenuate W1806, we investigated effects of mutations found in Japanese encephalitis virus vaccine SA14-14-2. WN viruses carrying all attenuating mutations lost infectivity in mammalian, but not in mosquito cells. No single reversion restored infectivity in mammalian cells, although increased infectivity in mosquito cells was observed. To identify a subset of mutations suitable for further attenuation of W1806, we analyzed effects of E{sub 138}K and K{sub 279}M changes on virulence, growth properties, and immunogenicity of derivatized W956, from which chimeric W1806 inherited its biological properties and attenuation profile. Despite strong dominant attenuating effect, introduction of only two mutations was not sufficient for attenuating W1806 to the safety level acceptable for human use. - Highlights: • Further attenuation of a WN vaccine precursor is outlined. • Effect of SA14-14-2 attenuating mutations is tested. • Mechanism of attenuation is proposed and illustrated. • The need for additional attenuating mutations is justified.

  2. An attenuated projector-backprojector for iterative SPECT reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gullberg, G.T.; Pelc, N.J.; Huesman, R.H.; Budinger, T.F.; Malko, J.A.

    1985-01-01

    A new ray-driven projector-backprojector which can easily be adapted for hardware implementation is described and simulated in software. The projector-backprojector discretely models the attenuated Radon transform of a source distributed within an attenuating medium as line integrals of discrete pixels, obtained using the standard sampling technique of averaging the emission source or attenuation distribution over small square regions. Attenuation factors are calculated for each pixel during the projection and backprojection operations instead of using precalculated values. The calculation of the factors requires a specification of the attenuation distribution, estimated either from an assumed constant distribution and an approximate body outline or from transmission measurements. The distribution of attenuation coefficients is stored in memory for efficient access during the projection and backprojection operations. The reconstruction of the source distribution is obtained by using a conjugate gradient or SIRT type iterative algorithm which requires one projection and one backprojection operation for each iteration. (author)

  3. Radiation attenuation by lead and nonlead materials used in radiation shielding garments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCaffrey, J. P.; Shen, H.; Downton, B.; Mainegra-Hing, E.

    2007-01-01

    The attenuating properties of several types of lead (Pb)-based and non-Pb radiation shielding materials were studied and a correlation was made of radiation attenuation, materials properties, calculated spectra and ambient dose equivalent. Utilizing the well-characterized x-ray and gamma ray beams at the National Research Council of Canada, air kerma measurements were used to compare a variety of commercial and pre-commercial radiation shielding materials over mean energy ranges from 39 to 205 keV. The EGSnrc Monte Carlo user code cavity.cpp was extended to provide computed spectra for a variety of elements that have been used as a replacement for Pb in radiation shielding garments. Computed air kerma values were compared with experimental values and with the SRS-30 catalogue of diagnostic spectra available through the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine Report 78. In addition to garment materials, measurements also included pure Pb sheets, allowing direct comparisons to the common industry standards of 0.25 and 0.5 mm 'lead equivalent'. The parameter 'lead equivalent' is misleading, since photon attenuation properties for all materials (including Pb) vary significantly over the energy spectrum, with the largest variations occurring in the diagnostic imaging range. Furthermore, air kerma measurements are typically made to determine attenuation properties without reference to the measures of biological damage such as ambient dose equivalent, which also vary significantly with air kerma over the diagnostic imaging energy range. A single material or combination cannot provide optimum shielding for all energy ranges. However, appropriate choice of materials for a particular energy range can offer significantly improved shielding per unit mass over traditional Pb-based materials

  4. Photostimulated attenuation of hypersound in superlattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mensah, S.Y.; Allotey, F.K.; Adjepong, S.K.

    1992-10-01

    Photostimulated attenuation of hypersound in semiconductor superlattice has been investigated. It is shown that the attenuation coefficient depends on the phonon wave vector q in an oscillatory manner and that from this oscillation the band width Δ of superlattice can be found. (author). 14 refs, 1 fig

  5. Calculation Of Pneumatic Attenuation In Pressure Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitmore, Stephen A.

    1991-01-01

    Errors caused by attenuation of air-pressure waves in narrow tubes calculated by method based on fundamental equations of flow. Changes in ambient pressure transmitted along narrow tube to sensor. Attenuation of high-frequency components of pressure wave calculated from wave equation derived from Navier-Stokes equations of viscous flow in tube. Developed to understand and compensate for frictional attenuation in narrow tubes used to connect aircraft pressure sensors with pressure taps on affected surfaces.

  6. Pramana – Journal of Physics | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Pramana – Journal of Physics; Volume 70; Issue 4. Issue front cover ... pp 565-574 Research Articles ... pp 575-585 Research Articles .... Attenuation studies near K-absorption edges using Compton scatteredAm gamma rays.

  7. Dose reduction using a dynamic, piecewise-linear attenuator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hsieh, Scott S., E-mail: sshsieh@stanford.edu [Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 and Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Fleischmann, Dominik [Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Pelc, Norbert J. [Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 and Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States)

    2014-02-15

    Purpose: The authors recently proposed a dynamic, prepatient x-ray attenuator capable of producing a piecewise-linear attenuation profile customized to each patient and viewing angle. This attenuator was intended to reduce scatter-to-primary ratio (SPR), dynamic range, and dose by redistributing flux. In this work the authors tested the ability of the attenuator to reduce dose and SPR in simulations. Methods: The authors selected four clinical applications, including routine full field-of-view scans of the thorax and abdomen, and targeted reconstruction tasks for an abdominal aortic aneurysm and the pancreas. Raw data were estimated by forward projection of the image volume datasets. The dynamic attenuator was controlled to reduce dose while maintaining peak variance by solving a convex optimization problem, assuminga priori knowledge of the patient anatomy. In targeted reconstruction tasks, the noise in specific regions was given increased weighting. A system with a standard attenuator (or “bowtie filter”) was used as a reference, and used either convex optimized tube current modulation (TCM) or a standard TCM heuristic. The noise of the scan was determined analytically while the dose was estimated using Monte Carlo simulations. Scatter was also estimated using Monte Carlo simulations. The sensitivity of the dynamic attenuator to patient centering was also examined by shifting the abdomen in 2 cm intervals. Results: Compared to a reference system with optimized TCM, use of the dynamic attenuator reduced dose by about 30% in routine scans and 50% in targeted scans. Compared to the TCM heuristics which are typically used withouta priori knowledge, the dose reduction is about 50% for routine scans. The dynamic attenuator gives the ability to redistribute noise and variance and produces more uniform noise profiles than systems with a conventional bowtie filter. The SPR was also modestly reduced by 10% in the thorax and 24% in the abdomen. Imaging with the dynamic

  8. Seismic attenuation system for a nuclear reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liszkai, Tamas; Cadell, Seth

    2018-01-30

    A system for attenuating seismic forces includes a reactor pressure vessel containing nuclear fuel and a containment vessel that houses the reactor pressure vessel. Both the reactor pressure vessel and the containment vessel include a bottom head. Additionally, the system includes a base support to contact a support surface on which the containment vessel is positioned in a substantially vertical orientation. An attenuation device is located between the bottom head of the reactor pressure vessel and the bottom head of the containment vessel. Seismic forces that travel from the base support to the reactor pressure vessel via the containment vessel are attenuated by the attenuation device in a direction that is substantially lateral to the vertical orientation of the containment vessel.

  9. Electron Effective-Attenuation-Length Database

    Science.gov (United States)

    SRD 82 NIST Electron Effective-Attenuation-Length Database (PC database, no charge)   This database provides values of electron effective attenuation lengths (EALs) in solid elements and compounds at selected electron energies between 50 eV and 2,000 eV. The database was designed mainly to provide EALs (to account for effects of elastic-eletron scattering) for applications in surface analysis by Auger-electron spectroscopy (AES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

  10. Effects of Attenuation of Gas Hydrate-bearing Sediments on Seismic Data: Example from Mallik, Northwest Territories, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellefleur, G.; Riedel, M.; Brent, T.

    2007-05-01

    Wave attenuation is an important physical property of hydrate-bearing sediments that is rarely taken into account in site characterization with seismic data. We present a field example showing improved images of hydrate- bearing sediments on seismic data after compensation of attenuation effects. Compressional quality factors (Q) are estimated from zero-offset Vertical Seismic Profiling data acquired at Mallik, Northwest Territories, Canada. During the last 10 years, two internationally-partnered research drilling programs have intersected three major intervals of sub-permafrost gas hydrates at Mallik, and have successfully extracted core samples containing significant amount of gas hydrates. Individual gas hydrate intervals are up to 40m in thickness and are characterized by high in situ gas hydrate saturation, sometimes exceeding 80% of pore volume of unconsolidated clastic sediments having average porosities ranging from 25% to 40%. The Q-factors obtained from the VSP data demonstrate significant wave attenuation for permafrost and hydrate- bearing sediments. These results are in agreement with previous attenuation estimates from sonic logs and crosshole data at different frequency intervals. The Q-factors obtained from VSP data were used to compensate attenuation effects on surface 3D seismic data acquired over the Mallik gas hydrate research wells. Intervals of gas hydrate on surface seismic data are characterized by strong reflectivity and effects from attenuation are not perceptible from a simple visual inspection of the data. However, the application of an inverse Q-filter increases the resolution of the data and improves correlation with log data, particularly for the shallowest gas hydrate interval. Compensation of the attenuation effects of the permafrost likely explains most of the improvements for the shallow gas hydrate zone. Our results show that characterization of the Mallik gas hydrates with seismic data not corrected for attenuation would tend to

  11. Attenuation in Melting Layer of Precipitation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klaassen, W.

    1988-01-01

    A model of the melting layer is employed on radar measurements to simulate the attenuation of radio waves at 12, 20 and 30GHz. The attenuation in the melting layer is simulated to be slightly larger than that of rain with the same path length and precipitation intensity. The result appears to depend

  12. The use of calibration standards and the correction for sample self-attenuation in gamma-ray nondestructive assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, J.L.

    1986-11-01

    The efficient use of appropriate calibration standards and the correction for the attenuation of the gamma rays within an assay sample by the sample itself are two important and closely related subjects in gamma-ray nondestructive assay. Much research relating to those subjects has been done in the Nuclear Safeguards Research and Development program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1970. This report brings together most of the significant results of that research. Also discussed are the nature of appropriate calibration standards and the necessary conditions on the composition, size, and shape of the samples to allow accurate assays. Procedures for determining the correction for the sample self-attenuation are described at length including both general principles and several specific useful cases. The most useful concept is that knowing the linear attenuation coefficient of the sample (which can usually be determined) and the size and shape of the sample and its position relative to the detector permits the computation of the correction factor for the self-attenuation. A major objective of the report is to explain how the procedures for determining the self-attenuation correction factor can be applied so that calibration standards can be entirely appropriate without being particularly similar, either physically or chemically, to the items to be assayed. This permits minimization of the number of standards required to assay items with a wide range of size, shape, and chemical composition

  13. MASS BALANCE: A KEY TO ADVANCING MONITORED AND ENHANCED ATTENUATION FOR CHLORINATED SOLVENTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Looney, B; Karen Vangelas, K; Karen-M Adams, K; Francis H. Chappelle; Tom O. Early; Claire H. Sink

    2006-06-30

    removal is needed or when to turn off active remediation and transition to MNA. It cannot be used to evaluate potential enhancement options (unless a long period of post enhancement monitoring is planned). It provides only indirect information about process and treats the plume as a ''black box''. The empirical approach has the advantage that, when sufficient monitoring data are available, the attenuation capacity can be defined inexpensively and with a high degree of certainty. Alternatively, a deterministic approach can be used to assess mass balance and plume stability. In this approach, the physical, chemical, and biological attenuation processes are used to assess contaminant loading and attenuation. The deterministic approach has the advantage that, when sufficient hydrologic, geochemical, and microbiological data are available, it is possible to project how a system will respond to contaminant removal actions or enhancements of natural attenuation processes. The ''black box'' of the plume is taken apart, quantified, and put back together again. The disadvantage of the deterministic approach is that it is difficult to measure all or most of the relevant hydrologic, geochemical, and biological parameters with any certainty. Case studies over the past decade demonstrate that empirical and deterministic approaches to MNA/EA are not mutually exclusive. These studies document that improved decision support and efficiency result by combining these methods based on the individual challenges presented by a given site. Whenever possible, the empirical approach is used to quantify mass loading and attenuation capacity (mass of contaminant/unit time) at particular sites. This is the most effective way to demonstrate the efficiency of ongoing natural attenuation processes in accordance with current regulatory guidance. But in addition, the monitoring well networks needed to apply the empirical approach can also yield estimates of the

  14. Trade-off of Elastic Structure and Q in Interpretations of Seismic Attenuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Wubing; Morozov, Igor B.

    2017-10-01

    The quality factor Q is an important phenomenological parameter measured from seismic or laboratory seismic data and representing wave-energy dissipation rate. However, depending on the types of measurements and models or assumptions about the elastic structure, several types of Qs exist, such as intrinsic and scattering Qs, coda Q, and apparent Qs observed from wavefield fluctuations. We consider three general types of elastic structures that are commonly encountered in seismology: (1) shapes and dimensions of rock specimens in laboratory studies, (2) geometric spreading or scattering in body-, surface- and coda-wave studies, and (3) reflectivity on fine layering in reflection seismic studies. For each of these types, the measured Q strongly trades off with the (inherently limited) knowledge about the respective elastic structure. For the third of the above types, the trade-off is examined quantitatively in this paper. For a layered sequence of reflectors (e.g., an oil or gas reservoir or a hydrothermal zone), reflection amplitudes and phases vary with frequency, which is analogous to a reflection from a contrast in attenuation. We demonstrate a quantitative equivalence between phase-shifted reflections from anelastic zones and reflections from elastic layering. Reflections from the top of an elastic layer followed by weaker reflections from its bottom can appear as resulting from a low Q within or above this layer. This apparent Q can be frequency-independent or -dependent, according to the pattern of thin layering. Due to the layering, the interpreted Q can be positive or negative, and it can depend on source-receiver offsets. Therefore, estimating Q values from frequency-dependent or phase-shifted reflection amplitudes always requires additional geologic or rock-physics constraints, such as sparseness and/or randomness of reflectors, the absence of attenuation in certain layers, or specific physical mechanisms of attenuation. Similar conclusions about the

  15. Attenuation of earmuffs used simultaneously with respiratory protective devices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emil Kozłowski

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: In the work environment, apart from the noise, employees may be exposed to other harmful factors. Therefore, they wear hearing protectors and other personal protective equipment. The aim of the study was to determine whether simultaneous use of earmuffs and respiratory protective devices affects the attenuation of earmuffs. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in laboratory conditions using the subjective REAT (Real Ear Attenuation at Threshold and objective MIRE (Microphone in Real Ear methods. The REAT method was used to measure sound attenuation of earmuffs, while MIRE was used to determine changes in attenuation of earmuffs due to the use of other personal protective equipment. Results: The study showed reduction in attenuation of earmuffs due to the use of a full face mask up to 20 dB. Using a full face mask causes that attenuation of earmuffs in the low frequency range is close to zero. Reduction in attenuation due to the use of half masks for complete with particle filters (half masks is 3–15 dB. Simultaneous use of earmuffs and filtering half masks makes small changes in attenuation not exceeding 3 dB. Conclusions: The study showed that full face masks give the greatest reduction in attenuation of earmuffs. On the other hand, the least reduction is observed in the case of filtering half masks. There is a significant difference between the reduction in attenuation of earmuffs worn with half masks for complete with particle filters because they may be equipped with different kind of the head strap. Med Pr 2017;68(3:349–361

  16. GPR measurements of attenuation in concrete

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenmann, David; Margetan, Frank J.; Pavel, Brittney

    2015-03-01

    Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signals from concrete structures are affected by several phenomenon, including: (1) transmission and reflection coefficients at interfaces; (2) the radiation patterns of the antenna(s) being used; and (3) the material properties of concrete and any embedded objects. In this paper we investigate different schemes for determining the electromagnetic (EM) attenuation of concrete from measured signals obtained using commercially-available GPR equipment. We adapt procedures commonly used in ultrasonic inspections where one compares the relative strengths of two or more signals having different travel paths through the material of interest. After correcting for beam spread (i.e., diffraction), interface phenomena, and equipment amplification settings, any remaining signal differences are assumed to be due to attenuation thus allowing the attenuation coefficient (say, in dB of loss per inch of travel) to be estimated. We begin with a brief overview of our approach, and then discuss how diffraction corrections were determined for our two 1.6 GHz GPR antennas. We then present results of attenuation measurements for two types of concrete using both pulse/echo and pitch/catch measurement setups.

  17. GPR measurements of attenuation in concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eisenmann, David; Margetan, Frank J.; Pavel, Brittney

    2015-01-01

    Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signals from concrete structures are affected by several phenomenon, including: (1) transmission and reflection coefficients at interfaces; (2) the radiation patterns of the antenna(s) being used; and (3) the material properties of concrete and any embedded objects. In this paper we investigate different schemes for determining the electromagnetic (EM) attenuation of concrete from measured signals obtained using commercially-available GPR equipment. We adapt procedures commonly used in ultrasonic inspections where one compares the relative strengths of two or more signals having different travel paths through the material of interest. After correcting for beam spread (i.e., diffraction), interface phenomena, and equipment amplification settings, any remaining signal differences are assumed to be due to attenuation thus allowing the attenuation coefficient (say, in dB of loss per inch of travel) to be estimated. We begin with a brief overview of our approach, and then discuss how diffraction corrections were determined for our two 1.6 GHz GPR antennas. We then present results of attenuation measurements for two types of concrete using both pulse/echo and pitch/catch measurement setups

  18. GPR measurements of attenuation in concrete

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eisenmann, David, E-mail: djeisen@cnde.iastate.edu; Margetan, Frank J., E-mail: djeisen@cnde.iastate.edu; Pavel, Brittney, E-mail: djeisen@cnde.iastate.edu [Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Iowa State University, 1915 Scholl Road, Ames, IA 50011-3042 (United States)

    2015-03-31

    Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signals from concrete structures are affected by several phenomenon, including: (1) transmission and reflection coefficients at interfaces; (2) the radiation patterns of the antenna(s) being used; and (3) the material properties of concrete and any embedded objects. In this paper we investigate different schemes for determining the electromagnetic (EM) attenuation of concrete from measured signals obtained using commercially-available GPR equipment. We adapt procedures commonly used in ultrasonic inspections where one compares the relative strengths of two or more signals having different travel paths through the material of interest. After correcting for beam spread (i.e., diffraction), interface phenomena, and equipment amplification settings, any remaining signal differences are assumed to be due to attenuation thus allowing the attenuation coefficient (say, in dB of loss per inch of travel) to be estimated. We begin with a brief overview of our approach, and then discuss how diffraction corrections were determined for our two 1.6 GHz GPR antennas. We then present results of attenuation measurements for two types of concrete using both pulse/echo and pitch/catch measurement setups.

  19. Nuclear medical physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, L.E.

    1987-01-01

    This three-volume set covers the physical basis of nuclear medicine, and is intended as a source of data for practicing scientists and physicians as well as those beginning their careers or simply studying nuclear medical physics. It leads the reader from quantum theory to the production and attenuation of ionizing radiation; considers dosimetry and the most recent assessment of biological effects of such particles; describes in detail detector materials, signal analysis, and gamma cameras; includes extensive discussions of bone mineral measurement as well as magnetic resonance imaging; covers limited angle, rotating camera, and positron tomography; presents quality assurance and statistical theory with an eye toward enhanced departmental operations; and features descriptions of functional imaging and the psychophysical basis of diagnosis

  20. A miniaturized reconfigurable broadband attenuator based on RF MEMS switches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Xin; Gong, Zhuhao; Zhong, Qi; Liang, Xiaotong; Liu, Zewen

    2016-01-01

    Reconfigurable attenuators are widely used in microwave measurement instruments. Development of miniaturized attenuation devices with high precision and broadband performance is required for state-of-the-art applications. In this paper, a compact 3-bit microwave attenuator based on radio frequency micro-electro-mechanical system (RF MEMS) switches and polysilicon attenuation modules is presented. The device comprises 12 ohmic contact MEMS switches, π -type polysilicon resistive attenuation modules and microwave compensate structures. Special attention was paid to the design of the resistive network, compensate structures and system simulation. The device was fabricated using micromachining processes compatible with traditional integrated circuit fabrication processes. The reconfigurable attenuator integrated with RF MEMS switches and resistive attenuation modules was successfully fabricated with dimensions of 2.45  ×  4.34  ×  0.5 mm 3 , which is 1/1000th of the size of a conventional step attenuator. The measured RF performance revealed that the attenuator provides 10–70 dB attenuation at 10 dB intervals from 0.1–20 GHz with an accuracy better than  ±1.88 dB at 60 dB and an error of less than 2.22 dB at 10 dB. The return loss of each state of the 3-bit attenuator was better than 11.95 dB (VSWR  <  1.71) over the entire operating band. (paper)

  1. Cyber attack analysis on cyber-physical systems: Detectability, severity, and attenuation strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Cheolhyeon

    Security of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) against malicious cyber attacks is an important yet challenging problem. Since most cyber attacks happen in erratic ways, it is usually intractable to describe and diagnose them systematically. Motivated by such difficulties, this thesis presents a set of theories and algorithms for a cyber-secure architecture of the CPS within the control theoretic perspective. Here, instead of identifying a specific cyber attack model, we are focused on analyzing the system's response during cyber attacks. Firstly, we investigate the detectability of the cyber attacks from the system's behavior under cyber attacks. Specifically, we conduct a study on the vulnerabilities in the CPS's monitoring system against the stealthy cyber attack that is carefully designed to avoid being detected by its detection scheme. After classifying three kinds of cyber attacks according to the attacker's ability to compromise the system, we derive the necessary and sufficient conditions under which such stealthy cyber attacks can be designed to cause the unbounded estimation error while not being detected. Then, the analytical design method of the optimal stealthy cyber attack that maximizes the estimation error is developed. The proposed stealthy cyber attack analysis is demonstrated with illustrative examples on Air Traffic Control (ATC) system and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) navigation system applications. Secondly, in an attempt to study the CPSs' vulnerabilities in more detail, we further discuss a methodology to identify potential cyber threats inherent in the given CPSs and quantify the attack severity accordingly. We then develop an analytical algorithm to test the behavior of the CPS under various cyber attack combinations. Compared to a numerical approach, the analytical algorithm enables the prediction of the most effective cyber attack combinations without computing the severity of all possible attack combinations, thereby greatly reducing the

  2. Fat Attenuation at CT in Anorexia Nervosa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gill, Corey M.; Torriani, Martin; Murphy, Rachel; Harris, Tamara B.; Miller, Karen K.; Klibanski, Anne

    2016-01-01

    Purpose To investigate the composition, cross-sectional area (CSA), and hormonal correlates of different fat depots in women with anorexia nervosa (AN) and control subjects with normal weights to find out whether patients with AN have lower fat CSA but higher attenuation than did control subjects and whether these changes may be mediated by gonadal steroids, cortisol, and thyroid hormones. Materials and Methods This study was institutional review board approved and HIPAA compliant. Written informed consent was obtained. Forty premenopausal women with AN and 40 normal-weight women of comparable age (mean age ± standard deviation, 26 years ± 5) were studied. All individuals underwent computed tomography of the abdomen and thigh with a calibration phantom. Abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), thigh SAT, and thigh intermuscular adipose tissue CSA and attenuation were quantified. Serum estradiol, thyroid hormones, and urinary free cortisol levels were assessed. Variables were compared by using analysis of variance. Associations were examined by using linear regression analysis. Results Women with AN had higher fat attenuation than did control subjects (−100.1 to −46.7 HU vs −117.6 to −61.8 HU, P < .0001), despite lower fat CSA (2.0–62.8 cm2 vs 5.5–185.9 cm2, P < .0001). VAT attenuation but not CSA was inversely associated with lowest prior lifetime body mass index in AN (r = −0.71, P = .006). Serum estradiol levels were inversely associated with fat attenuation (r = −0.34 to −0.61, P = .03 to <.0001) and were positively associated with fat CSA of all compartments (r = 0.42–0.64, P = .007 to <.0001). Thyroxine levels and urinary free cortisol levels were positively associated with thigh SAT attenuation (r = 0.64 [P = .006] and r = 0.68 [P = .0004], respectively) and were inversely associated with abdominal SAT and VAT CSA (r = −0.44 to −0.58, P = .04 to .02). Conclusion Women with AN have differences in fat

  3. Pervious concrete physical characteristics and effectiveness in stormwater pollution reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-04-01

    The objective of this research was to investigate the physical/chemical and water flow characteristics of various previous concrete : mixes made of different concrete materials and their effectiveness in attenuating water pollution. Four pervious con...

  4. Lg Attenuation Modeling in the Middle East

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasyanos, M. E.; Matzel, E. M.; Walter, W. R.; Rodgers, A. J.

    2008-12-01

    We present a broadband tomographic model of Lg attenuation in the Middle East derived from source- and site-corrected amplitudes. The study region spans from Turkey through the Arabian Peninsula and Iran to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and northwest India. Absolute amplitude measurements are made on hand-selected and carefully windowed seismograms for tens of stations and thousands of crustal earthquakes resulting in excellent coverage of the region. We have modified the standard attenuation tomography technique to more explicitly define the earthquake source expression in terms of the seismic moment. This facilitates the use of the model to predict the expected amplitudes of new events, an important consideration for earthquake hazard or explosion monitoring applications. We will discuss the updated method and implications of this parameterization. A conjugate gradient method is used to tomographically invert the amplitude dataset of over 8000 paths. We solve for Q variation, as well as site and source terms, for a wide range of frequencies ranging from 0.5 -- 10 Hz. The attenuation results have a strong correlation to tectonics. Shields have low attenuation, while tectonic regions have high attenuation, with the highest attenuation at 1 Hz found in eastern Turkey. The results also compare favorably to other studies in the region made using Lg propagation efficiency, Lg/Pg amplitude ratios and two-station methods. We tomographically invert the amplitude measurements for each frequency independently. In doing so, it appears the frequency-dependence of attenuation is not compatible with the power law representation of Q(f). This research was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract number DE-AC52-07NA27344. This is LLNL contribution LLNL-ABS-406761.

  5. α-Terpineol attenuates morphine-induced physical dependence and tolerance in mice: role of nitric oxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parvardeh, Siavash; Moghimi, Mahsa; Eslami, Pegah; Masoudi, Alireza

    2016-02-01

    Dependence and tolerance to opioid analgesics are major problems limiting their clinical application. α-Terpineol is a monoterpenoid alcohol with neuroprotective effects which is found in several medicinal plants such as Myrtus communis, Laurus nobilis, and Stachys byzantina. It has been shown that some of these medicinal plants such as S. byzantina attenuate dependence and tolerance to morphine. Since α-terpineol is one of the bioactive phytochemical constituent of these medicinal plants, the present study was conducted to investigate the effects of α-terpineol on morphine-induced dependence and tolerance in mice. The mice were rendered dependent or tolerant to morphine by a 3-day administration schedule. The hot-plate test and naloxone-induced withdrawal syndrome were used to evaluate tolerance and dependence on morphine, respectively. To investigate a possible role for nitric oxide (NO) in the protective effect of α-terpineol, the NO synthase inhibitor, L-N(G)-nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and NO precursor, L-arginine, were used. Administration of α-terpineol (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg, IP) significantly decreased the number of jumps in morphine dependent animals. Moreover, α-terpineol (20 and 40 mg/kg, IP) attenuated tolerance to the analgesic effect of morphine. The inhibitory effects of α-terpineol on morphine-induced dependence and tolerance were enhanced by pretreatment with L-NAME (10 mg/kg, IP). However, L-arginine (300 mg/kg, IP) antagonized the protective effects of α-terpineol on dependence and tolerance to morphine. These findings indicate that α-terpineol prevents the development of dependence and tolerance to morphine probably through the influence on NO production.

  6. Attenuation Measurements in Solutions of Some Carbohydrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gagandeep; Singh, Kulwant; Lark, B.S.; Sahota, H.S.

    2000-01-01

    The linear attenuation coefficients in aqueous solutions of three carbohydrates, glucose (C 6 H 12 O 6 ), maltose monohydrate (C 12 H 22 O 11 .H 2 O), and sucrose (C 12 H 22 O 11 ), were determined at 81, 356, 511, 662, 1173, and 1332 keV by the gamma-ray transmission method in a good geometry setup. From the precisely measured densities of these solutions, mass attenuation coefficients were then obtained that varied systematically with the corresponding changes in the concentrations (g/cm 3 ) of these solutions. The experimental results were used in terms of effective atomic numbers and electron densities. A comparison between experimental and theoretical values of attenuation coefficients has proven that the study has a potential application for the determination of attenuation coefficients of solid solutes from their solutions without obtaining them in pure crystalline form

  7. Theoretical determination of gamma spectrometry systems efficiency based on probability functions. Application to self-attenuation correction factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barrera, Manuel, E-mail: manuel.barrera@uca.es [Escuela Superior de Ingeniería, University of Cadiz, Avda, Universidad de Cadiz 10, 11519 Puerto Real, Cadiz (Spain); Suarez-Llorens, Alfonso [Facultad de Ciencias, University of Cadiz, Avda, Rep. Saharaui s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cadiz (Spain); Casas-Ruiz, Melquiades; Alonso, José J.; Vidal, Juan [CEIMAR, University of Cadiz, Avda, Rep. Saharaui s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz (Spain)

    2017-05-11

    A generic theoretical methodology for the calculation of the efficiency of gamma spectrometry systems is introduced in this work. The procedure is valid for any type of source and detector and can be applied to determine the full energy peak and the total efficiency of any source-detector system. The methodology is based on the idea of underlying probability of detection, which describes the physical model for the detection of the gamma radiation at the particular studied situation. This probability depends explicitly on the direction of the gamma radiation, allowing the use of this dependence the development of more realistic and complex models than the traditional models based on the point source integration. The probability function that has to be employed in practice must reproduce the relevant characteristics of the detection process occurring at the particular studied situation. Once the probability is defined, the efficiency calculations can be performed in general by using numerical methods. Monte Carlo integration procedure is especially useful to perform the calculations when complex probability functions are used. The methodology can be used for the direct determination of the efficiency and also for the calculation of corrections that require this determination of the efficiency, as it is the case of coincidence summing, geometric or self-attenuation corrections. In particular, we have applied the procedure to obtain some of the classical self-attenuation correction factors usually employed to correct for the sample attenuation of cylindrical geometry sources. The methodology clarifies the theoretical basis and approximations associated to each factor, by making explicit the probability which is generally hidden and implicit to each model. It has been shown that most of these self-attenuation correction factors can be derived by using a common underlying probability, having this probability a growing level of complexity as it reproduces more precisely

  8. Bulk viscosity and ultrasonic attenuation in liquid metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Awasthi, O.N.; Murthy, B.V.S.

    1984-11-01

    Ultrasonic attenuation in simple liquid metals has been investigated using the thermodynamic theory of relaxation processes incorporating the concept of a two state model for the liquid near the melting point. Agreement of the results with the experimental values of the ultrasonic attenuation and bulk viscosity indicates that this might be an appropriate approach to explain the excess attenuation of ultrasonic waves in liquid metals. (author)

  9. Phosphatidylserine and caffeine attenuate postexercise mood disturbance and perception of fatigue in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, Adam J; Hoffman, Jay R; Gonzalez, Adam M; Stout, Jeffrey R; Fragala, Maren S; Mangine, Gerald T; McCormack, William P; Jajtner, Adam R; Townsend, Jeremy R; Robinson, Edward H

    2013-06-01

    Phosphatidylserine (PS) may attenuate the adverse effects of physical fatigue. Therefore, we investigated the effects of a multi-ingredient supplement containing 400 mg/d PS and 100 mg/d caffeine (supplement [SUP]) for 2 weeks on measures of cognitive function (CF), reaction time (RT), and mood (MD) following an acute exercise stress. It is hypothesized that PS will maintain preexercise CF and RT scores, while attenuating postexercise fatigue. Participants completed 2 acute bouts of resistance exercise (T1 and T2) separated by 2-week ingestion of SUP or control (CON). Outcome measures were assessed pre- and postexercise. When collapsed across groups, a significant decrease in RT performance was seen in the 60-second reaction drill from pre- to postexercise at T1. All other RT tests were similar from pre- to postexercise at T1. Reaction time was not significantly changed by PS. When collapsed across groups, a significant increase in performance of the serial subtraction test was seen. A significant increase (8.9% and 7.1%) in the number of correct answers and a significant decrease (8.0% and 7.5%) in time to answer were seen from pre- to postworkout at T1 and T2, respectively. A significant increase in total MD score from pre- to postworkout was observed for CON but not for PS at T2. Phosphatidylserine significantly attenuated pre- to postexercise perception of fatigue compared to CON. Ingestion of SUP for 14 days appears to attenuate postexercise MD scores and perception of fatigue, but does not affect CF or RT, in recreationally trained individuals. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. An attenuation measurement technique for rotating planar detector positron tomographs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McNeil, P.A.; Julyan, P.J.; Parker, D.J.

    1997-01-01

    This paper presents a new attenuation measurement technique suitable for rotating planar detector positron tomographs. Transmission measurements are made using two unshielded positron-emitting line sources, one attached to the front face of each detector. Many of the scattered and accidental coincidences are rejected by including only those coincidences that form a vector passing within a predetermined distance of either line source. Some scattered and accidental coincidences are still included, which reduces the measured linear attenuation; in principle their contribution can be accurately estimated and subtracted, but in practice, when limited statistics are available (as is the case with the multi-wire Birmingham positron camera), this background subtraction unacceptably increases the noise. Instead an attenuation image having the correct features can be reconstructed from the measured projections. For objects containing only a few discrete linear attenuation coefficients, segmentation of this attenuation image reduces noise and allows the correct linear attenuation coefficients to be restored by renormalization. Reprojection through the segmented image may then provide quantitatively correct attenuation correction factors of sufficient statistical quality to correct for attenuation in PET emission images. (author)

  11. Characteristics of Earthquake Ground Motion Attenuation in Korea and Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, In-Kil; Choun, Young-Sun; Nakajima, Masato; Ohtori, Yasuki; Yun, Kwan-Hee

    2006-01-01

    The characteristics of a ground motion attenuation in Korea and Japan were estimated by using the earthquake ground motions recorded at the equal distance observation station by KMA, K-NET and KiK-net of Korea and Japan. The ground motion attenuation equations proposed for Korea and Japan were evaluated by comparing the predicted value for the Fukuoka earthquake with the observed records. The predicted values from the attenuation equations show a good agreement with the observed records and each other. It can be concluded from this study that the ground motion attenuation equations can be used for the prediction of strong ground motion attenuation and for an evaluation of the attenuation equations proposed for Korea

  12. Measurements of earplug attenuation under supra-aural and circumaural headphones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tufts, Jennifer B; Palmer, Jillian V; Marshall, Lynne

    2012-10-01

    Supra-aural audiometric headphones are generally not recommended for use in measuring the attenuation of earplugs, because contact between the headphone and pinna and/or earplug could alter the attenuation obtained, and because of concerns of non-comparability between modes of excitation from supra-aural headphones and the sound-field procedure required by the standardized method. In this study, we compared measurements of earplug attenuation obtained under Telephonics TDH-50P supra-aural headphones with measurements obtained under circumaural headphones designed expressly for such testing. The attenuation of three types of earplugs (foam, premolded quadruple-flange, and custom-molded) was measured in a repeated-measures design. The study sample comprised 42 normal-hearing adults (21 females, 21 males). With the foam earplugs, nearly all of the attenuation measurements under the supra-aural headphones fell within 10 dB of the measurements under the circumaural headphones. With the flange and custom earplugs, approximately 10% of individuals obtained spuriously high attenuation under the supra-aural headphones. We conclude that standard supra-aural audiometric headphones are suitable for measuring the attenuation provided by foam earplugs. However, supra-aural headphones should not be used to measure the attenuation of flange or custom-molded earplugs. The potential exists for substantial over-estimation of attenuation, especially of custom plugs.

  13. Attenuation measurements in solutions of some carbohydrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gagandeep; Singh, K.; Lark, B.S.; Sahota, H.S.

    2000-01-01

    The linear attenuation coefficients in aqueous solutions of three carbohydrates, glucose (C 6 H 12 O 6 ), maltose monohydrate (C 12 H 22 O 11 ·H 2 O), and sucrose (C 12 H 22 O 11 ), were determined at 81, 356, 511, 662, 1,173, and 1,332 keV by the gamma-ray transmission method in a good geometry setup. From the precisely measured densities of these solutions, mass attenuation coefficients were then obtained that varied systematically with the corresponding changes in the concentrations (g/cm 3 ) of these solutions. The experimental results were used in terms of effective atomic numbers and electron densities. A comparison between experimental and theoretical values of attenuation coefficients has proven that the study has a potential application for the determination of attenuation coefficients of solid solutes from their solutions without obtaining them in pure crystalline form

  14. Neck pain, concerns of falling and physical performance in community-dwelling Danish citizens over 75 years of age

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kendall, Julie C; Boyle, Eleanor; Hartvigsen, Jan

    2016-01-01

    (Short Physical Performance Battery), self-reported psychological concerns related to falling (Falls Efficacy Scale International), depression (Major Depression Inventory), cognitive function (Mini Mental State Examination), self-reported low-back pain and self-reported history of falls. Associations...... physical performance (unadjusted OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.09-4.69). However, these relationships became nonsignificant after adjusting for potential confounders. Bothersome neck pain and concerns of falling is attenuated by depression, and the relationship between bothersome neck pain and decreased physical...... performance is attenuated by concerns of falling, depression and previous history of falls. CONCLUSIONS: Bothersome neck pain in older people is associated with increased concerns of falling and decreased physical performance that are two known risk factors for falls in older people. However...

  15. Mirtazapine attenuates cocaine seeking in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa-Méndez, Susana; Leff, Phillipe; Arías-Caballero, Adriana; Hernández-Miramontes, Ricardo; Heinze, Gerardo; Salazar-Juárez, Alberto

    2017-09-01

    Relapse to cocaine use is a major problem in the clinical treatment of cocaine addiction. Antidepressants have been studied for their therapeutic potential to treat cocaine use disorder. Research has suggested that antidepressants attenuate both drug craving and the re-acquisition of drug-seeking and drug-taking behaviors. This study examined the efficacy of mirtazapine, an antidepressant/anxiolytic, in decreasing cocaine seeking in rats. We used the cocaine self-administration paradigm to assess the effects of mirtazapine on rats trained to self-administer cocaine or food under a fixed-ratio schedule. Mirtazapine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered during extinction. Mirtazapine significantly attenuated non-reinforced lever-press responses during extinction. Moreover, the mirtazapine dosed for 30 days during extinction produced sustained attenuation of lever-press responses during re-acquisition of cocaine self-administration, without changing food-seeking behavior. Our results showed that mirtazapine attenuated the re-acquisition of cocaine-seeking responses. Our study pointed to the efficacy of mirtazapine in reducing the risk of drug relapse during abstinence, suggesting for its potential use as a novel pharmacological agent to treat drug abuse. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. An attenuation correction method for PET/CT images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ue, Hidenori; Yamazaki, Tomohiro; Haneishi, Hideaki

    2006-01-01

    In PET/CT systems, accurate attenuation correction can be achieved by creating an attenuation map from an X-ray CT image. On the other hand, respiratory-gated PET acquisition is an effective method for avoiding motion blurring of the thoracic and abdominal organs caused by respiratory motion. In PET/CT systems employing respiratory-gated PET, using an X-ray CT image acquired during breath-holding for attenuation correction may have a large effect on the voxel values, especially in regions with substantial respiratory motion. In this report, we propose an attenuation correction method in which, as the first step, a set of respiratory-gated PET images is reconstructed without attenuation correction, as the second step, the motion of each phase PET image from the PET image in the same phase as the CT acquisition timing is estimated by the previously proposed method, as the third step, the CT image corresponding to each respiratory phase is generated from the original CT image by deformation according to the motion vector maps, and as the final step, attenuation correction using these CT images and reconstruction are performed. The effectiveness of the proposed method was evaluated using 4D-NCAT phantoms, and good stability of the voxel values near the diaphragm was observed. (author)

  17. Collider Physics: SDC/SSC liquified fiber calorimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    White, J.T.; Huson, F.R.

    1992-01-01

    Most effort was directed toward the D-Zero experiment at Fermilab. Over 3 pb -1 of high-quality physics data have been obtained. Analysis of the results (wino-zino physics, squark physics), D-zero data acquisition systems efforts, and level-1 and level-2 trigger work are described. Other work concerned detector development for use at the SSC. This technology consists of using liquid scintillator-filled tubes as scintillating fibers for a ''calorimeter.'' The key issues were to demonstrate that the liquid fibers were sufficiently rad-hard and to demonstrate that fibers with sufficiently long attenuation length could be found to satisfy the resolution requirements; both constraints could be satisfied

  18. Physical activity (PA) and the disablement process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schultz-Larsen, Kirsten; Rahmanfard, Naghmeh; Holst, Claus

    2012-01-01

    . Among older women, the association between RPA and incidence of disability was attenuated in analyses that controlled for baseline mobility function. Thus, the association between physical activity and mortality reflected processes different from those underlying a simple relation between physical...... activity, disability and mortality. Physical activity was an ubiquitous predictor of longevity, but only for women....... community-living persons, aged 75-83 years, we evaluated the 1021 who reported no disability in basic activities of daily living. Participants were followed for a median of 8.34 years in public registers to determine onset of disability and mortality. RPA predicted mortality in older women (HR=1.77, 95%CI=1...

  19. Factors influencing radon attenuation by tailing covers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silker, W.B.; Rogers, V.C.

    1981-07-01

    The US NRC, in its Generic Environmental Impact Statement on uranium milling has specified that the radon flux escaping a uranium mill tailings pile will be reduced to pCi/m 2 s by application of covering layers of soils and clays. These covers present a radon diffusion barrier, which sufficiently increases the time required for radon passage from the tailings to the atmosphere to allow for decay of 222 Rn within the cover. The depth of cover necessary to reduce the escaping radon flux to the prescribed level is to be determined by calculation, and requires precise knowledge of the radon diffusion coefficient in the covering media. A Radon Attenuation Test Facility was developed to determine rates of radon diffusion through candidate cover materials. This paper describes this facility and its application for determining the influence of physical properties of the soil column on the radon diffusion coefficient

  20. Physical activity and negative affective reactivity in daily life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puterman, Eli; Weiss, Jordan; Beauchamp, Mark R; Mogle, Jacqueline; Almeida, David M

    2017-12-01

    The results from experimental studies indicate that physically active individuals remain calmer and report less anxiety after the induction of a standardized stressor. The current study extends this research to real life, and examines whether daily physical activity attenuates negative affect that occurs in response to naturally occurring daily stressors. The current study used data from the second wave of the National Study of Daily Experiences, a sub-study of the second wave of the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS-II) of 2,022 individuals aged 33-84 questioned nightly for eight consecutive days about their general affect and affective responses to stressful events and their engagement in physical activity. Results indicated that while negative affect is significantly elevated on days with stressful events compared to days free of events in all individuals, these effects are attenuated in those who remain physically active when compared to those who were underactive. This was also true for any day participants were physically active. Importantly, negative affect in response to any specific stressor was reduced the closer in time that the stressor occurred to the bout of exercise in underactive participants, while, in active participants, negative affect in response to any stressor remained low throughout the entire day that participants reported that they were active. Given the significant mental and physical health implications of elevated affective reactivity observed in previous studies, the current study sheds further light on the importance of remaining physically active in times of stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Evaluation of a direct motion estimation/correction method in respiratory-gated PET/MRI with motion-adjusted attenuation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bousse, Alexandre; Manber, Richard; Holman, Beverley F; Atkinson, David; Arridge, Simon; Ourselin, Sébastien; Hutton, Brian F; Thielemans, Kris

    2017-06-01

    Respiratory motion compensation in PET/CT and PET/MRI is essential as motion is a source of image degradation (motion blur, attenuation artifacts). In previous work, we developed a direct method for joint image reconstruction/motion estimation (JRM) for attenuation-corrected (AC) respiratory-gated PET, which uses a single attenuation-map (μ-map). This approach was successfully implemented for respiratory-gated PET/CT, but since it relied on an accurate μ-map for motion estimation, the question of its applicability in PET/MRI is open. The purpose of this work is to investigate the feasibility of JRM in PET/MRI and to assess the robustness of the motion estimation when a degraded μ-map is used. We performed a series of JRM reconstructions from simulated PET data using a range of simulated Dixon MRI sequence derived μ-maps with wrong attenuation values in the lungs, from -100% (no attenuation) to +100% (double attenuation), as well as truncated arms. We compared the estimated motions with the one obtained from JRM in ideal conditions (no noise, true μ-map as an input). We also applied JRM on 4 patient datasets of the chest, 3 of them containing hot lesions. Patient list-mode data were gated using a principal component analysis method. We compared SUV max values of the JRM reconstructed activity images and non motion-corrected images. We also assessed the estimated motion fields by comparing the deformed JRM-reconstructed activity with individually non-AC reconstructed gates. Experiments on simulated data showed that JRM-motion estimation is robust to μ-map degradation in the sense that it produces motion fields similar to the ones obtained when using the true μ-map, regardless of the attenuation errors in the lungs (PET/MRI clinical datasets. It provides a potential alternative to existing methods where the motion fields are pre-estimated from separate MRI measurements. © 2017 University College London (UCL). Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

  2. Josephson tunnel junction microwave attenuator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koshelets, V. P.; Shitov, S. V.; Shchukin, A. V.

    1993-01-01

    A new element for superconducting electronic circuitry-a variable attenuator-has been proposed, designed, and successfully tested. The principle of operation is based on the change in the microwave impedance of a superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) Josephson tunnel junction when dc biased...... at different points in the current-voltage characteristic. Both numerical calculations based on the Tien-Gordon theory and 70-GHz microwave experiments have confirmed the wide dynamic range (more than 15-dB attenuation for one stage) and the low insertion loss in the ''open'' state. The performance of a fully...

  3. Precision Model for Microwave Rotary Vane Attenuator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guldbrandsen, Tom

    1979-01-01

    A model for a rotary vane attenuator is developed to describe the attenuator reflection and transmission coefficients in detail. All the parameters of the model can be measured in situ, i.e., without diassembling any part. The tranmission errors caused by internal reflections are calculated from ...

  4. Natural attenuation of diesel fuel in heavy clay soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berry, K.A.T.; Burton, D.L.

    1997-01-01

    The application of bioremediation techniques on heavy clay soils contaminated with diesel fuels was studied. Earlier studies suggested that in-situ bioreclamation was only effective on permeable soils such as medium- to coarse-textured sandy or loamy soils. It was assumed that heavy clay soils such as those found in the Red River Valley in Southern Manitoba had physical and chemical properties that would limit the usefulness of natural attenuation. In this study, the disappearance and the natural attenuation of diesel fuel added to soil at a rate of 5000 mg/kg soil in tilled and untilled heavy clay soil was monitored. Three methods of analysis were used: (1) oil and grease content, (2) extractable organics, and (3) the Millipore EnviroGard ELISA method for petroleum hydrocarbons. Effects of the contamination on the soil microbial population were measured using surface CO 2 flux measurements and microbial biomass carbon analysis. Soil moisture contents at all sample times were between 44 and 49 per cent. Soil temperature was also monitored. All three analytical methods used in the study showed the near-complete disappearance of detectable diesel fuel hydrocarbons from the soil after 30 days with half-lives ranging from 11 to 26 days. The advantages and limitations of the ELISA kit were described. No hydrocarbons were detected in the groundwater sample. 45 refs., 7 tabs., 2 figs

  5. Mechanical spectroscopy, internal friction and ultrasonic attenuation: Collection of works

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magalas, L.B.

    2009-01-01

    An extensive collection of recommended books and proceedings from numerous conferences on internal friction, mechanical spectroscopy, and ultrasonic attenuation is provided. Reflecting the complicated history of the 20th century, books published in English and in Russian are presented in two separate sections. International and national conferences organized in various countries are listed. Supplementary lists referring to conferences held in the People's Republic of China, Poland, Russia, the Soviet Union, and Ukraine are also provided. The interesting evolution of mechanical spectroscopy from internal friction and ultrasonic attenuation in solids is clearly demonstrated, and a choice list of retrospective papers illustrates the evolution of the field. A brief review of mechanical spectroscopy, therefore, is included. Numerous research areas investigated by internal friction and mechanical spectroscopy are addressed, including point defect relaxations, electronic and phonon relaxations, dislocation relaxations, grain boundary relaxations, domain induced relaxations (magnetic, ferroelectric), magnetomechanical relaxations, phase transformations, glass transitions, interface effects as well as a wide array of applications specific to physics and materials science. For many years now, there has been a definite need to provide a thorough list of references that might cover major national conferences and books published in English and other languages. This work strives to achieve this goal.

  6. Attenuation correction strategies for multi-energy photon emitters using SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pretorius, P.H.; King, M.A.; Pan, T.S.

    1996-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate whether the photopeak window projections from different energy photons can be combined into a single window for reconstruction or if it is better to not combine the projections due to differences in the attenuation maps required for each photon energy. The mathematical cardiac torso (MCAT) phantom was modified to simulate the uptake of Ga-67 in the human body. Four spherical hot tumors were placed in locations which challenged attenuation correction. An analytical 3D projector with attenuation and detector response included was used to generate projection sets. Data were reconstructed using filtered backprojection (FBP) reconstruction with Butterworth filtering in conjunction with one iteration of Chang attenuation correction, and with 5 and 10 iterations of ordered-subset maximum-likelihood expectation-maximization reconstruction. To serve as a standard for comparison, the projection sets obtained from the two energies were first reconstructed separately using their own attenuation maps. The emission data obtained from both energies were added and reconstructed using the following attenuation strategies: (1) the 93 keV attenuation map for attenuation correction, (2) the 185 keV attenuation map for attenuation correction, (3) using a weighted mean obtained from combining the 93 keV and 185 keV maps, and (4) an ordered subset approach which combines both energies. The central count ratio (CCR) and total count ratio (TCR) were used to compare the performance of the different strategies. Compared to the standard method, results indicate an over-estimation with strategy 1, an under-estimation with strategy 2 and comparable results with strategies 3 and 4. In all strategies, the CCR's of sphere 4 were under-estimated, although TCR's were comparable to that of the other locations. The weighted mean and ordered subset strategies for attenuation correction were of comparable accuracy to reconstruction of the windows separately

  7. Determination of mass attenuation coefficient in wood and leaves of typical trees by gamma-ray attenuation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miranda, Regina M. de; Pascholati, Elisabete M.

    1997-01-01

    Using an 241 Am source the mass attenuation coefficient of different woods and leaves of typical species of the Atlantic Forest were measured. The results for natural wood, dry wood and dry leaves indicate that the variation is very small among different species. However, woods present a higher attenuation than leaves, both depending on their water content. (author). 10 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  8. Low Intensity Physical Exercise Attenuates Cardiac Remodeling and Myocardial Oxidative Stress and Dysfunction in Diabetic Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Gimenes

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We evaluated the effects of a low intensity aerobic exercise protocol on cardiac remodeling and myocardial function in diabetic rats. Wistar rats were assigned into four groups: sedentary control (C-Sed, exercised control (C-Ex, sedentary diabetes (DM-Sed, and exercised diabetes (DM-Ex. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Rats exercised for 9 weeks in treadmill at 11 m/min, 18 min/day. Myocardial function was evaluated in left ventricular (LV papillary muscles and oxidative stress in LV tissue. Statistical analysis was given by ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis. Echocardiogram showed diabetic groups with higher LV diastolic diameter-to-body weight ratio and lower posterior wall shortening velocity than controls. Left atrium diameter was lower in DM-Ex than DM-Sed (C-Sed: 5.73±0.49; C-Ex: 5.67±0.53; DM-Sed: 6.41±0.54; DM-Ex: 5.81±0.50 mm; P<0.05 DM-Sed vs C-Sed and DM-Ex. Papillary muscle function was depressed in DM-Sed compared to C-Sed. Exercise attenuated this change in DM-Ex. Lipid hydroperoxide concentration was higher in DM-Sed than C-Sed and DM-Ex. Catalase and superoxide dismutase activities were lower in diabetics than controls and higher in DM-Ex than DM-Sed. Glutathione peroxidase activity was lower in DM-Sed than C-Sed and DM-Ex. Conclusion. Low intensity exercise attenuates left atrium dilation and myocardial oxidative stress and dysfunction in type 1 diabetic rats.

  9. Anomalies of ultrasound attenuation in metals under hydrostatic pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galkin, A.A.; Datsko, O.I.; Varyukhin, V.N.; Pilipenko, N.P.

    1978-01-01

    Ultrasonic attenuation was measured in polycrystal specimens of molybdenum, chromium and zinc under hydrostatic pressure up to 6 kbar. On the plot of ultrasound attenuation dependence on the pressure in molybdenum the maxima are observed under the pressure of 2 kbar. The anomaly of ultrasound attenuation is shown to connect only with brittle-ductile transtion

  10. Post-Retrieval Extinction Attenuates Cocaine Memories

    OpenAIRE

    Sartor, Gregory C; Aston-Jones, Gary

    2013-01-01

    Recent studies have shown that post-retrieval extinction training attenuates fear and reward-related memories in both humans and rodents. This noninvasive, behavioral approach has the potential to be used in clinical settings to treat maladaptive memories that underlie several psychiatric disorders, including drug addiction. However, few studies to date have used a post-retrieval extinction approach to attenuate addiction-related memories. In the current study, we attempted to disrupt cocaine...

  11. Spatially resolved ultrasonic attenuation in resistance spot welds: implications for nondestructive testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mozurkewich, George; Ghaffari, Bita; Potter, Timothy J

    2008-09-01

    Spatial variation of ultrasonic attenuation and velocity has been measured in plane parallel specimens extracted from resistance spot welds. In a strong weld, attenuation is larger in the nugget than in the parent material, and the region of increased attenuation is surrounded by a ring of decreased attenuation. In the center of a stick weld, attenuation is even larger than in a strong weld, and the low-attenuation ring is absent. These spatial variations are interpreted in terms of differences in grain size and martensite formation. Measured frequency dependences indicate the presence of an additional attenuation mechanism besides grain scattering. The observed attenuations do not vary as commonly presumed with weld quality, suggesting that the common practice of using ultrasonic attenuation to indicate weld quality is not a reliable methodology.

  12. Mapping Pn amplitude spreading and attenuation in Asia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Xiaoning [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Phillips, William S [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Stead, Richard J [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2010-12-06

    Pn travels most of its path in the mantle lid. Mapping the lateral variation of Pn amplitude attenuation sheds light on material properties and dynamics of the uppermost region of the mantle. Pn amplitude variation depends on the wavefront geometric spreading as well as material attenuation. We investigated Pn geometric spreading, which is much more complex than a traditionally assumed power-law spreading model, using both synthetic and observed amplitude data collected in Asia. We derived a new Pn spreading model based on the formulation that was proposed previously to account for the spherical shape of the Earth (Yang et. al., BSSA, 2007). New parameters derived for the spreading model provide much better correction for Pn amplitudes in terms of residual behavior. Because we used observed Pn amplitudes to construct the model, the model incorporates not only the effect of the Earth's spherical shape, but also the effect of potential upper-mantle velocity gradients in the region. Using the new spreading model, we corrected Pn amplitudes measured at 1, 2, 4 and 6 Hz and conducted attenuation tomography. The resulting Pn attenuation model correlates well with the regional geology. We see high attenuation in regions such as northern Tibetan Plateau and the western Pacific subduction zone, and low attenuation for stable blocks such as Sichuan and Tarim basins.

  13. A promising hybrid approach to SPECT attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, N.H.; Faber, T.L.; Corbett, J.R.; Stokely, E.M.

    1984-01-01

    Most methods for attenuation compensation in SPECT either rely on the assumption of uniform attenuation, or use slow iteration to achieve accuracy. However, hybrid methods that combine iteration with simple multiplicative correction can accommodate nonuniform attenuation, and such methods converge faster than other iterative techniques. The authors evaluated two such methods, which differ in use of a damping factor to control convergence. Both uniform and nonuniform attenuation were modeled, using simulated and phantom data for a rotating gamma camera. For simulations done with 360 0 data and the correct attenuation map, activity levels were reconstructed to within 5% of the correct values after one iteration. Using 180 0 data, reconstructed levels in regions representing lesion and background were within 5% of the correct values in three iterations; however, further iterations were needed to eliminate the characteristic streak artifacts. The damping factor had little effect on 360 0 reconstruction, but was needed for convergence with 180 0 data. For both cold- and hot-lesion models, image contrast was better from the hybrid methods than from the simpler geometric-mean corrector. Results from the hybrid methods were comparable to those obtained using the conjugate-gradient iterative method, but required 50-100% less reconstruction time. The relative speed of the hybrid methods, and their accuracy in reconstructing photon activity in the presence of nonuniform attenuation, make them promising tools for quantitative SPECT reconstruction

  14. Protein Intake and Distribution in Relation to Physical Functioning and Quality of Life in Community-Dwelling Elderly People: Acknowledging the Role of Physical Activity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haaf, ten Dominique; Dongen, van E.J.I.; Nuijten, M.; Eijsvogels, Thijs; Groot, de C.P.G.M.; Hopman, Maria

    2018-01-01

    Increasing total protein intake and a spread protein intake distribution are potential strategies to attenuate sarcopenia related loss of physical function and quality of life. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether protein intake and protein intake distribution are

  15. Associations of discretionary screen time with mortality, cardiovascular disease and cancer are attenuated by strength, fitness and physical activity: findings from the UK Biobank study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Celis-Morales, Carlos A; Lyall, Donald M; Steell, Lewis; Gray, Stuart R; Iliodromiti, Stamatina; Anderson, Jana; Mackay, Daniel F; Welsh, Paul; Yates, Thomas; Pell, Jill P; Sattar, Naveed; Gill, Jason M R

    2018-05-24

    markedly attenuated in those with the highest levels of grip strength, fitness and physical activity. Thus, if these associations are causal, the greatest benefits from health promotion interventions to reduce discretionary screen time may be seen in those with low levels of strength, fitness and physical activity.

  16. Factors influencing seismic wave attenuation in the lithosphere in continental rift zones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    А. А. Dobrynina

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Attenuation of seismic waves in the crust and the upper mantle has been studied in three global rift systems: the Baikal rift system (Eurasia, the North Tanzanian divergence zone (Africa and the Basin and Range Province (North America. Using the records of direct and coda waves of regional earthquakes, the single scattering theory [Aki, Chouet, 1975], the hybrid model from [Zeng, 1991] and the approach described in [Wennerberg, 1993], we estimated the seismic quality factor (QC, frequency parameter (n, attenuation coefficient (δ, and total attenuation (QT. In addition, we evaluated the contributions of two components into total attenuation: intrinsic attenuation (Qi, and scattering attenuation (Qsc. Values of QC are strongly dependent on the frequency within the range of 0.2–16 Hz, as well as on the length of the coda processing window. The observed increase of QC with larger lengths of the coda processing window can be interpreted as a decrease in attenuation with increasing depth. Having compared the depth variations in the attenuation coefficient (δ and the frequency (n with the velocity structures of the studied regions, we conclude that seismic wave attenuation changes at the velocity boundaries in the medium. Moreover, the comparison results show that the estimated variations in the attenuation parameters with increasing depth are considerably dependent on utilized velocity models of the medium. Lateral variations in attenuation of seismic waves correlate with the geological and geophysical characteristics of the regions, and attenuation is primarily dependent on the regional seismic activity and regional heat flow. The geological inhomogeneities of the medium and the age of crust consolidation are secondary factors. Our estimations of intrinsic attenuation (Qi and scattering attenuation (Qsc show that in all the three studied regions, intrinsic attenuation is the major contributor to total attenuation. Our study shows that the

  17. Earth-Space Link Attenuation Estimation via Ground Radar Kdp

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolen, Steven M.; Benjamin, Andrew L.; Chandrasekar, V.

    2003-01-01

    A method of predicting attenuation on microwave Earth/spacecraft communication links, over wide areas and under various atmospheric conditions, has been developed. In the area around the ground station locations, a nearly horizontally aimed polarimetric S-band ground radar measures the specific differential phase (Kdp) along the Earth-space path. The specific attenuation along a path of interest is then computed by use of a theoretical model of the relationship between the measured S-band specific differential phase and the specific attenuation at the frequency to be used on the communication link. The model includes effects of rain, wet ice, and other forms of precipitation. The attenuation on the path of interest is then computed by integrating the specific attenuation over the length of the path. This method can be used to determine statistics of signal degradation on Earth/spacecraft communication links. It can also be used to obtain real-time estimates of attenuation along multiple Earth/spacecraft links that are parts of a communication network operating within the radar coverage area, thereby enabling better management of the network through appropriate dynamic routing along the best combination of links.

  18. Determination of beta attenuation coefficients by means of timing method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ermis, E.E.; Celiktas, C.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Beta attenuation coefficients of absorber materials were found in this study. ► For this process, a new method (timing method) was suggested. ► The obtained beta attenuation coefficients were compatible with the results from the traditional one. ► The timing method can be used to determine beta attenuation coefficient. - Abstract: Using a counting system with plastic scintillation detector, beta linear and mass attenuation coefficients were determined for bakelite, Al, Fe and plexiglass absorbers by means of timing method. To show the accuracy and reliability of the obtained results through this method, the coefficients were also found via conventional energy method. Obtained beta attenuation coefficients from both methods were compared with each other and the literature values. Beta attenuation coefficients obtained through timing method were found to be compatible with the values obtained from conventional energy method and the literature.

  19. Application of Terahertz Attenuated Total Reflection Spectroscopy to Detect Changes in the Physical Properties of Lactose during the Lubrication Process Required for Drug Formulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dohi, Masafumi; Momose, Wataru; Yamashita, Kazunari; Hakomori, Tadashi; Sato, Shusaku; Noguchi, Shuji; Terada, Katsuhide

    2017-02-01

    Manufacturing the solid dosage form of an orally administered drug requires lubrication to enhance manufacturability, ensuring that critical quality attributes such as disintegration and dissolution of the drug product are maintained during manufacture. Here, to evaluate lubrication performance during manufacture, we used terahertz attenuated total reflection (THz-ATR) spectroscopy to detect differences in the physical characteristics of the lubricated powder. We applied a simple formulation prepared by blending granulated lactose as filler with magnesium stearate as lubricant. A flat tablet was prepared using the lubricated powder to acquire sharp THz-ATR absorption peaks of the samples. First, we investigated the effects of lubricant concentration and compression pressure on preparation of the tablet and then determined the effect of the pressure applied to samples in contact with the ATR prism on sample absorption amplitude. We focused on the differences in the magnitudes of spectra at the lactose-specific frequency. Second, we conducted the dynamic lubrication process using a 120-L mixer to investigate differences in the magnitudes of absorption corresponding to the lactose-specific frequency during lubrication. In both studies, enriching the lubricated powder with a higher concentration of magnesium stearate or prolonging blending time correlated with higher magnitudes of spectra at the lactose-specific frequency. Further, in the dynamic lubrication study, the wettability and disintegration time of the tablets were compared with the absorption spectra amplitudes at the lactose-specific frequency. We conclude that THz-ATR spectroscopy is useful for detecting differences in densities caused by a change in the physical properties of lactose during lubrication.

  20. Attenuated radon transform: theory and application in medicine and biology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gullberg, G.T.

    1979-06-01

    A detailed analysis is given of the properties of the attenuated Radon transform and of how increases in photon attenuation influence the numerical accuracy and computation efficiency of iterative and convolution algorithms used to determine its inversion. The practical applications for this work involve quantitative assessment of the distribution of injected radiopharmaceuticals and radionuclides in man and animals for basic physiological and biochemical studies as well as clinical studies in nuclear medicine. A mathematical structure is developed using function theory and the theory of linear operators on Hilbert spaces which lends itself to better understanding the spectral properties of the attenuated Radon transform. The continuous attenuated Radon transform reduces to a matrix operator for discrete angular and lateral sampling, and the reconstruction problem reduces to a system of linear equations. For the situation of variable attenuation coefficient frequently found in nuclear medicine applications of imaging the heart and chest, the procedure developed in this thesis involves iterative techniques of performing the generalized inverse. For constant attenuation coefficient less than 0.15 cm/sup -1/, convolution methods can reliably reconstruct a 30 cm object with 0.5 cm resolution. However, for high attenuation coefficients or for the situation where there is variable attenuation such as reconstruction of distribution of isotopes in the heart, iterative techniques developed in this thesis give the best results. (ERB)

  1. Attenuation of trace organic compounds (TOrCs) inbioelectrochemical systems

    KAUST Repository

    Werner, Craig M.

    2015-04-01

    Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are two types of microbial bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) that use microorganisms to convert chemical energy in wastewaters into useful energy products such as (bio)electricity (MFC) or hydrogen gas (MEC). These two systems were evaluated for their capacity to attenuate trace organic compounds (TOrCs), commonly found in municipal wastewater, under closed circuit (current generation) and open circuit (no current generation) conditions, using acetate as the carbon source. A biocide was used to evaluate attenuation in terms of biotransformation versus sorption. The difference in attenuation observed before and after addition of the biocide represented biotransformation, while attenuation after addition of a biocide primarily indicated sorption. Attenuation of TOrCs was similar in MFCs and MECs for eight different TOrCs, except for caffeine and trimethoprim where slightly higher attenuation was observed in MECs. Electric current generation did not enhance attenuation of the TOrCs except for caffeine, which showed slightly higher attenuation under closed circuit conditions in both MFCs and MECs. Substantial sorption of the TOrCs occurred to the biofilm-covered electrodes, but no consistent trend could be identified regarding the physico-chemical properties of the TOrCs tested and the extent of sorption. The octanol-water distribution coefficient at pH 7.4 (log DpH 7.4) appeared to be a reasonable predictor for sorption of some of the compounds (carbamazepine, atrazine, tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate and diphenhydramine) but not for others (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide). Atenolol also showed high levels of sorption despite being the most hydrophilic in the suite of compounds studied (log DpH 7.4=-1.99). Though BESs do not show any inherent advantages over conventional wastewater treatment, with respect to TOrC removal, overall removals in BESs are similar to that reported for conventional wastewater

  2. Active inference, sensory attenuation and illusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Harriet; Adams, Rick A; Parees, Isabel; Edwards, Mark; Friston, Karl

    2013-11-01

    Active inference provides a simple and neurobiologically plausible account of how action and perception are coupled in producing (Bayes) optimal behaviour. This can be seen most easily as minimising prediction error: we can either change our predictions to explain sensory input through perception. Alternatively, we can actively change sensory input to fulfil our predictions. In active inference, this action is mediated by classical reflex arcs that minimise proprioceptive prediction error created by descending proprioceptive predictions. However, this creates a conflict between action and perception; in that, self-generated movements require predictions to override the sensory evidence that one is not actually moving. However, ignoring sensory evidence means that externally generated sensations will not be perceived. Conversely, attending to (proprioceptive and somatosensory) sensations enables the detection of externally generated events but precludes generation of actions. This conflict can be resolved by attenuating the precision of sensory evidence during movement or, equivalently, attending away from the consequences of self-made acts. We propose that this Bayes optimal withdrawal of precise sensory evidence during movement is the cause of psychophysical sensory attenuation. Furthermore, it explains the force-matching illusion and reproduces empirical results almost exactly. Finally, if attenuation is removed, the force-matching illusion disappears and false (delusional) inferences about agency emerge. This is important, given the negative correlation between sensory attenuation and delusional beliefs in normal subjects--and the reduction in the magnitude of the illusion in schizophrenia. Active inference therefore links the neuromodulatory optimisation of precision to sensory attenuation and illusory phenomena during the attribution of agency in normal subjects. It also provides a functional account of deficits in syndromes characterised by false inference

  3. Gene × physical activity interactions in obesity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahmad, Shafqat; Rukh, Gull; Varga, Tibor V

    2013-01-01

    Numerous obesity loci have been identified using genome-wide association studies. A UK study indicated that physical activity may attenuate the cumulative effect of 12 of these loci, but replication studies are lacking. Therefore, we tested whether the aggregate effect of these loci is diminished...... in adults of European ancestry reporting high levels of physical activity. Twelve obesity-susceptibility loci were genotyped or imputed in 111,421 participants. A genetic risk score (GRS) was calculated by summing the BMI-associated alleles of each genetic variant. Physical activity was assessed using self...... combined using meta-analysis weighted by cohort sample size. The meta-analysis yielded a statistically significant GRS × physical activity interaction effect estimate (Pinteraction  = 0.015). However, a statistically significant interaction effect was only apparent in North American cohorts (n = 39...

  4. Inhibition of NF-κB activity in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus attenuates hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy by modulating cytokines and attenuating oxidative stress

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Xiao-Jing [Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Xi' an Jiaotong University School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi' an Jiaotong University Cardiovascular Research Center, Xi' an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi' an 710061 (China); Zhang, Dong-Mei [Department of Physiology, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116044 (China); Jia, Lin-Lin; Qi, Jie; Song, Xin-Ai; Tan, Hong [Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Xi' an Jiaotong University School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi' an Jiaotong University Cardiovascular Research Center, Xi' an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi' an 710061 (China); Cui, Wei [Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, First Affiliated Hospital of Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi' an 710061 (China); Chen, Wensheng [Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi' an 710032 (China); Zhu, Guo-Qing [Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease and Molecular Intervention, Department of Physiology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029 (China); Qin, Da-Nian, E-mail: dnqin@stu.edu.cn [Department of Physiology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041 (China); Kang, Yu-Ming, E-mail: ykang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Xi' an Jiaotong University School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi' an Jiaotong University Cardiovascular Research Center, Xi' an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi' an 710061 (China)

    2015-05-01

    We hypothesized that chronic inhibition of NF-κB activity in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) delays the progression of hypertension and attenuates cardiac hypertrophy by up-regulating anti-inflammatory cytokines, reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines (PICs), attenuating nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p65 and NAD(P)H oxidase in the PVN of young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Young normotensive Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) and SHR rats received bilateral PVN infusions with NF–κB inhibitor pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) or vehicle for 4 weeks. SHR rats had higher mean arterial pressure and cardiac hypertrophy as indicated by increased whole heart weight/body weight ratio, whole heart weight/tibia length ratio, left ventricular weight/tibia length ratio, cardiomyocyte diameters of the left cardiac ventricle, and mRNA expressions of cardiac atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and beta-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC). These SHR rats had higher PVN levels of proinflammatory cytokines (PICs), reactive oxygen species (ROS), the chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), NAD(P)H oxidase activity, mRNA expression of NOX-2 and NOX-4, and lower PVN IL-10, and higher plasma levels of PICs and NE, and lower plasma IL-10. PVN infusion of NF-κB inhibitor PDTC attenuated all these changes. These findings suggest that NF-κB activation in the PVN increases sympathoexcitation and hypertensive response, which are associated with the increases of PICs and oxidative stress in the PVN; PVN inhibition of NF-κB activity attenuates PICs and oxidative stress in the PVN, thereby attenuates hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy. - Highlights: • Spontaneously hypertensive rats exhibit neurohormonal excitation in the PVN. • PVN inhibition of NF-κB attenuates hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy. • PVN inhibition of NF-κB attenuates hypertension-induced neurohormonal excitation. • PVN inhibition of NF-κB attenuates hypertension-induced imbalance of cytokines

  5. A practical attenuation compensation method for cone beam spect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manglos, S.H.; Jaszczak, R.J.; Floyd, C.E.; Greer, K.L.; Coleman, R.E.

    1987-01-01

    An algorithm for attenuation compensation of cone beam SPECT images has been developed and implemented. The algorithm is based on a multiplicative post-processing method previously used for parallel and fan beam geometries. This method computes the compensation from the estimated average attenuation of photons originating from each image pixel. In the present development, a uniform attenuation coefficient inside of the body contour is assumed, although the method could be extended to include a non-uniform attenuation map. The algorithm is tested with experimental projections of a phantom obtained using a cone beam collimator. Profiles through the reconstructed images are presented as a quantitative test of the improvement due to the compensation. The algorithm provides adequate compensation for attenuation in a simple uniform cylindrical phantom, and the computational time is short compared to that expected for iterative reconstruction techniques. Also observed are image distortions in some reconstructed slices when the source distribution extends beyond the edge of the cone beam axial field-of-view

  6. Impact of Scattering Model on Disdrometer Derived Attenuation Scaling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zemba, Michael; Luini, Lorenzo; Nessel, James; Riva, Carlo (Compiler)

    2016-01-01

    NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) are currently entering the third year of a joint propagation study in Milan, Italy utilizing the 20 and 40 GHz beacons of the Alphasat TDP5 Aldo Paraboni scientific payload. The Ka- and Q-band beacon receivers were installed at the POLIMI campus in June of 2014 and provide direct measurements of signal attenuation at each frequency. Collocated weather instrumentation provides concurrent measurement of atmospheric conditions at the receiver; included among these weather instruments is a Thies Clima Laser Precipitation Monitor (optical disdrometer) which records droplet size distributions (DSD) and droplet velocity distributions (DVD) during precipitation events. This information can be used to derive the specific attenuation at frequencies of interest and thereby scale measured attenuation data from one frequency to another. Given the ability to both predict the 40 GHz attenuation from the disdrometer and the 20 GHz timeseries as well as to directly measure the 40 GHz attenuation with the beacon receiver, the Milan terminal is uniquely able to assess these scaling techniques and refine the methods used to infer attenuation from disdrometer data.In order to derive specific attenuation from the DSD, the forward scattering coefficient must be computed. In previous work, this has been done using the Mie scattering model, however, this assumes a spherical droplet shape. The primary goal of this analysis is to assess the impact of the scattering model and droplet shape on disdrometer derived attenuation predictions by comparing the use of the Mie scattering model to the use of the T-matrix method, which does not assume a spherical droplet. In particular, this paper will investigate the impact of these two scattering approaches on the error of the resulting predictions as well as on the relationship between prediction error and rain rate.

  7. Patient position alters attenuation effects in multipinhole cardiac SPECT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmins, Rachel; Ruddy, Terrence D; Wells, R Glenn

    2015-03-01

    Dedicated cardiac cameras offer improved sensitivity over conventional SPECT cameras. Sensitivity gains are obtained by large numbers of detectors and novel collimator arrangements such as an array of multiple pinholes that focus on the heart. Pinholes lead to variable amounts of attenuation as a source is moved within the camera field of view. This study evaluated the effects of this variable attenuation on myocardial SPECT images. Computer simulations were performed for a set of nine point sources distributed in the left ventricular wall (LV). Sources were placed at the location of the heart in both an anthropomorphic and a water-cylinder computer phantom. Sources were translated in x, y, and z by up to 5 cm from the center. Projections were simulated with and without attenuation and the changes in attenuation were compared. A LV with an inferior wall defect was also simulated in both phantoms over the same range of positions. Real camera data were acquired on a Discovery NM530c camera (GE Healthcare, Haifa, Israel) for five min in list-mode using an anthropomorphic phantom (DataSpectrum, Durham, NC) with 100 MBq of Tc-99m in the LV. Images were taken over the same range of positions as the simulations and were compared based on the summed perfusion score (SPS), defect width, and apparent defect uptake for each position. Point sources in the water phantom showed absolute changes in attenuation of ≤8% over the range of positions and relative changes of ≤5% compared to the apex. In the anthropomorphic computer simulations, absolute change increased to 20%. The changes in relative attenuation caused a change in SPS of position-dependent changes were removed with attenuation correction. Translation of a source relative to a multipinhole camera caused only small changes in homogeneous phantoms with SPS changing position-dependent changes in attenuation.

  8. An Approximate Method for the Acoustic Attenuating VTI Eikonal Equation

    KAUST Repository

    Hao, Q.

    2017-05-26

    We present an approximate method to solve the acoustic eikonal equation for attenuating transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI). A perturbation method is used to derive the perturbation formula for complex-valued traveltimes. The application of Shanks transform further enhances the accuracy of approximation. We derive both analytical and numerical solutions to the acoustic eikonal equation. The analytic solution is valid for homogeneous VTI media with moderate anellipticity and strong attenuation and attenuation-anisotropy. The numerical solution is applicable for inhomogeneous attenuating VTI media.

  9. An Approximate Method for the Acoustic Attenuating VTI Eikonal Equation

    KAUST Repository

    Hao, Q.; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali

    2017-01-01

    We present an approximate method to solve the acoustic eikonal equation for attenuating transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis (VTI). A perturbation method is used to derive the perturbation formula for complex-valued traveltimes. The application of Shanks transform further enhances the accuracy of approximation. We derive both analytical and numerical solutions to the acoustic eikonal equation. The analytic solution is valid for homogeneous VTI media with moderate anellipticity and strong attenuation and attenuation-anisotropy. The numerical solution is applicable for inhomogeneous attenuating VTI media.

  10. When and Why Mimicry is Facilitated and Attenuated

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stel, Mariëlle; van Dijk, Eric; van Baaren, Rick B.

    2016-01-01

    Although people tend to mimic others automatically, mimicry is facilitated or attenuated depending on the specific context. In the current paper, the authors discuss when mimicry is facilitated and attenuated depending on characteristics of situations, targets, and observers. On the basis of the

  11. Magnitude corrections for attenuation in the upper mantle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1978-01-01

    Since 1969, a consistent discrepancy in seismic magnitudes of nuclear detonations at NTS compared with magnitudes of detonations elsewhere in the world has been observed. This discrepancy can be explained in terms of a relatively high seismic attenuation for compressional waves in the upper mantle beneath the NTS and in certain other locations. A correction has been developed for this attenuation based on a relationship between the velocity of compressional waves at the top of the earth's mantle (just beneath the Mohorovicic discontinuity) and the seismic attenuation further down in the upper mantle. Our new definition of body-wave magnitude includes corrections for attenuation in the upper mantle at both ends of the teleseismic body-wave path. These corrections bring the NTS oservations into line with measurements of foreign events, and enable one to make more reliable estimates of yields of underground nuclear explosions, wherever the explosion occurs

  12. Electromagnetic Wave Attenuation in Atmospheric Pressure Plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Shu; Hu Xiwei; Liu Minghai; Luo Fang; Feng Zelong

    2007-01-01

    When an electromagnetic (EM) wave propagates in an atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) layer, its attenuation depends on the APP parameters such as the layer width, the electron density and its profile and collision frequency between electrons and neutrals. This paper proposes that a combined parameter-the product of the line average electron density n-bar and width d of the APP layer (i.e., the total number of electrons in a unit volume along the wave propagation path) can play a more explicit and decisive role in the wave attenuation than any of the above individual parameters does. The attenuation of the EM wave via the product of n-bar and d with various collision frequencies between electrons and neutrals is presented

  13. Investigation of multilayered nanocomposites as low energy X-Rays attenuators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Liliane; Batista, Adriana S.M.; Nascimento, Jefferson P.; Furtado, Clascídia A.; Faria, Luiz O., E-mail: asfisica@gmail.com, E-mail: adriananuclear@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: farialo@cdtn.br, E-mail: nascimentopatricio@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: clas@cdtn.br [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

    2017-11-01

    The development of radiation attenuating materials has application in radioprotection and conditioning of short-lived waste. Polymeric materials can serve as a matrix for the dispersion of nanomaterials with good attenuation features, resulting in lightweight, conformable, flexible and easy-to-process materials. Thus, some well-known shielding materials could be used in low proportion for the formation of new materials. On the other hand, nanostructured carbon materials, such as graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotubes (NTCs), have been reported recently to show enhanced attenuation properties. In this sense, polymeric matrixes provide the necessary flexibility for use in various applications that require molding. For the present work, poly(vinylidene fluoride) [PVDF] homopolymers and its fluorinated copolymers were filled with nanosized metallic and graphene oxides in order to produce nanocomposites with increased low energy X-ray attenuation efficiency. Film samples of PVDF/reduced Graphene Oxide [PVDF/rGO] and Poly(vinylidene fluoride – tryfluorethylene)/Barium Oxide [P(VDF-TrFE)/BaO] were synthesized. In a second step, the samples were then sandwiched between Kapton® layers and exposed to X-rays source (8.5 keV). The samples were characterized with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The attenuation coefficient was evaluated and compared with the attenuation of the individual constituents. It was observed an increase in the linear attenuation coefficient of the layered materials, justifying further investigation of these nanostructured composites as X-ray or gamma radiation attenuators. (author)

  14. Investigation of multilayered nanocomposites as low energy X-Rays attenuators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Liliane; Batista, Adriana S.M.; Nascimento, Jefferson P.; Furtado, Clascídia A.; Faria, Luiz O.

    2017-01-01

    The development of radiation attenuating materials has application in radioprotection and conditioning of short-lived waste. Polymeric materials can serve as a matrix for the dispersion of nanomaterials with good attenuation features, resulting in lightweight, conformable, flexible and easy-to-process materials. Thus, some well-known shielding materials could be used in low proportion for the formation of new materials. On the other hand, nanostructured carbon materials, such as graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotubes (NTCs), have been reported recently to show enhanced attenuation properties. In this sense, polymeric matrixes provide the necessary flexibility for use in various applications that require molding. For the present work, poly(vinylidene fluoride) [PVDF] homopolymers and its fluorinated copolymers were filled with nanosized metallic and graphene oxides in order to produce nanocomposites with increased low energy X-ray attenuation efficiency. Film samples of PVDF/reduced Graphene Oxide [PVDF/rGO] and Poly(vinylidene fluoride – tryfluorethylene)/Barium Oxide [P(VDF-TrFE)/BaO] were synthesized. In a second step, the samples were then sandwiched between Kapton® layers and exposed to X-rays source (8.5 keV). The samples were characterized with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The attenuation coefficient was evaluated and compared with the attenuation of the individual constituents. It was observed an increase in the linear attenuation coefficient of the layered materials, justifying further investigation of these nanostructured composites as X-ray or gamma radiation attenuators. (author)

  15. On the attenuation of the ambient seismic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weemstra, C.

    2013-01-01

    Although myriad applications exploiting the ambient seismic field have been reported to date, comparatively little attention has been paid to its potential to resolve subsurface attenuation. The ambient seismic field, however, may ultimately prove itself an invaluable asset in constraining subsurface attenuation structure. Especially areas with dense seismometer coverage hold great potential. Moreover, since this coverage continues to grow, significant developments may await in the future. Subsurface structure in terms of attenuation is of great importance for many reasons. For example, knowledge of the attenuation structure may aid in predicting ground motions caused by future large earthquakes. From a scientific perspective, a great deal of new information may be extracted, potentially fostering research in related fields (e.g., geodynamics, hydrology). Both from an environmental and economic point of view, inversion of the ambient seismic wavefield for attenuation structure may in the future provide a means to image hydrocarbon reservoirs. In sufficiently diffuse wavefields, simple cross-correlation of long noise time series recorded by two receivers results in the response at one of the receivers as if there was a source at the position of the other. I present a case study that shows that thus retrieved surface waves can be used to recover attenuation beneath an array of ocean-bottom seismometers. Given the small aperture of the seismic survey, this is unprecedented. Unambiguous interpretation of recovered attenuation values is of major importance. Lack of understanding of the effect that preprocessing has on the amplitude of the noise cross-correlation prevents such unambiguous interpretation. I carefully examine the effect spectral whitening has on the noise cross-correlation. Emphasis is given to the dependence of the amplitudes on the length of the time windows employed in the cross-correlation procedure. Short time-window lengths may require an additional

  16. MNAtoolbox: A Monitored Natural Attenuation Site Screening Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borns, David J.; Brady, Patrick V.; Brady, Warren D.; Krupka, Kenneth M.; Spalding, Brian P.; Waters, Robert D.; Zhang, Pengchu

    1999-07-12

    Screening of sites for the potential application and reliance upon monitored natural attenuation (MNA) can be done using MNAtoolbox, a web-based tool for estimating extent of biodegradation, chemical transformation, and dilution. MNAtoolbox uses site-specific input data, where available (default parameters are taken from the literature), to roughly quantify the nature and extent of attenuation at a particular site. Use of MNAtoolbox provides 3 important elements of site evaluation: (1) Identifies likely attenuation pathways, (2) Clearly identifies sites where MNA is inappropriate, and (3) Evaluates data requirements for subsequent reliance on MNA as a sole or partial corrective action.

  17. Deconvolution based attenuation correction for time-of-flight positron emission tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Nam-Yong

    2017-10-01

    For an accurate quantitative reconstruction of the radioactive tracer distribution in positron emission tomography (PET), we need to take into account the attenuation of the photons by the tissues. For this purpose, we propose an attenuation correction method for the case when a direct measurement of the attenuation distribution in the tissues is not available. The proposed method can determine the attenuation factor up to a constant multiple by exploiting the consistency condition that the exact deconvolution of noise-free time-of-flight (TOF) sinogram must satisfy. Simulation studies shows that the proposed method corrects attenuation artifacts quite accurately for TOF sinograms of a wide range of temporal resolutions and noise levels, and improves the image reconstruction for TOF sinograms of higher temporal resolutions by providing more accurate attenuation correction.

  18. Shock wave attenuation in a micro-channel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giordano, J.; Perrier, P.; Meister, L.; Brouillette, M.

    2018-05-01

    This work presents optical measurements of shock wave attenuation in a glass micro-channel. This transparent facility, with a cross section ranging from 1 mm× 150 μm to 1 mm× 500 μm, allowed for the use of high-speed schlieren videography to visualize the propagation of a shock wave within the entire micro-channel and to quantify velocity attenuation of the wave due to wall effects. In this paper, we present the experimental technique and the relevant data treatment we have used to increase the sensitivity of shock wave detection. Then, we compared our experimental results for different channel widths, lengths, and shock wave velocities with the analytical model for shock attenuation proposed by Russell (J Fluid Mech 27(2):305-314, 1967), which assumes laminar flow, and by Mirels (Attenuation in a shock tube due to unsteady-boundary-layer action, NACA Report 1333, 1957) for turbulent flow. We found that these models are inadequate to predict the observed data, owing to the presence of fully developed flow which violates the basic assumption of these models. The data are also compared with the empirical shock attenuation models proposed by Zeitoun (Phys Fluids 27(1):011701, 2015) and Deshpande and Puranik (Shock Waves 26(4):465-475, 2016), where better agreement is observed. Finally, we presented experimental data for the flow field behind the shock wave from measurements of the Mach wave angle which shows globally decreasing flow Mach numbers due to viscous wall effects.

  19. Detection and measurement of gamma-ray self-attenuation in plutonium residues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prettyman, T.H.; Foster, L.A.; Estep, R.J.

    1996-01-01

    A new method to correct for self-attenuation in gamma-ray assays of plutonium is presented. The underlying assumptions of the technique are based on a simple but accurate physical model of plutonium residues, particularly pyrochemical salts, in which it is assumed that the plutonium is divided into two portions, each of which can be treated separately from the standpoint of gamma-ray analysis: a portion that is in the form of plutonium metal shot; and a dilute portion that is mixed with the matrix. The performance of the technique is evaluated using assays of plutonium residues by tomographic gamma scanning at the Los Alamos Plutonium Facility. The ability of the method to detect saturation conditions is examined

  20. Modelling the attenuation in the ATHENA finite elements code for the ultrasonic testing of austenitic stainless steel welds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chassignole, B; Duwig, V; Ploix, M-A; Guy, P; El Guerjouma, R

    2009-12-01

    Multipass welds made in austenitic stainless steel, in the primary circuit of nuclear power plants with pressurized water reactors, are characterized by an anisotropic and heterogeneous structure that disturbs the ultrasonic propagation and makes ultrasonic non-destructive testing difficult. The ATHENA 2D finite element simulation code was developed to help understand the various physical phenomena at play. In this paper, we shall describe the attenuation model implemented in this code to give an account of wave scattering phenomenon through polycrystalline materials. This model is in particular based on the optimization of two tensors that characterize this material on the basis of experimental values of ultrasonic velocities attenuation coefficients. Three experimental configurations, two of which are representative of the industrial welds assessment case, are studied in view of validating the model through comparison with the simulation results. We shall thus provide a quantitative proof that taking into account the attenuation in the ATHENA code dramatically improves the results in terms of the amplitude of the echoes. The association of the code and detailed characterization of a weld's structure constitutes a remarkable breakthrough in the interpretation of the ultrasonic testing on this type of component.

  1. Insights into the attenuated sorption of organic compounds on black carbon aged in soil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Lei; Lv, Jitao; Chen, Zien; Huang, Rixiang; Zhang, Shuzhen

    2017-12-01

    Sorption of organic compounds on fresh black carbons (BCs) can be greatly attenuated in soil over time. We examined herein the changes in surface properties of maize straw-derived BCs (biochars) after aged in a black soil and their effects on the sorptive behaviors of naphthalene, phenanthrene and 1,3-dinitrobenzene. Dissolved fulvic and humic acids extracted from the soil were used to explore the role of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the aging of biochars. Chromatography analysis indicated that DOC molecules with relatively large molecular weight were preferentially adsorbed on the biochars during the aging processes. DOC sorption led to blockage of the biochar's micropores according to N 2 and CO 2 adsorption analyses. Surface chemistry of the biochars was also substantially modified, with more O-rich functional groups on the aged biochars compared to the original biochars, as evidenced by Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The changes in both the physical and chemical surface properties of biochars by DOC led to significant attenuation of the sorption capacity and nonlinearity of the nonionic organic compounds on the aged biochars. Among the tested organic compounds, phenanthrene was the most attenuated in its sorption by the aging treatments, possibly because of its relatively large molecular size and hydrophobicity. The information can help gain a mechanistic understanding of interactions between BCs and organic compounds in soil environment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. An integrated numerical and physical modeling system for an enhanced in situ bioremediation process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Y.F.; Huang, G.H.; Wang, G.Q.; Lin, Q.G.; Chakma, A.

    2006-01-01

    Groundwater contamination due to releases of petroleum products is a major environmental concern in many urban districts and industrial zones. Over the past years, a few studies were undertaken to address in situ bioremediation processes coupled with contaminant transport in two- or three-dimensional domains. However, they were concentrated on natural attenuation processes for petroleum contaminants or enhanced in situ bioremediation processes in laboratory columns. In this study, an integrated numerical and physical modeling system is developed for simulating an enhanced in situ biodegradation (EISB) process coupled with three-dimensional multiphase multicomponent flow and transport simulation in a multi-dimensional pilot-scale physical model. The designed pilot-scale physical model is effective in tackling natural attenuation and EISB processes for site remediation. The simulation results demonstrate that the developed system is effective in modeling the EISB process, and can thus be used for investigating the effects of various uncertainties. - An integrated modeling system was developed to enhance in situ bioremediation processes

  3. The use of microperforated plates to attenuate cavity resonances

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fenech, Benjamin; Keith, Graeme; Jacobsen, Finn

    2006-01-01

    The use of microperforated plates to introduce damping in a closed cavity is examined. By placing a microperforated plate well inside the cavity instead of near a wall as traditionally done in room acoustics, high attenuation can be obtained for specific acoustic modes, compared with the lower...... attenuation that can be obtained in a broad frequency range with the conventional position of the plate. An analytical method for predicting the attenuation is presented. The method involves finding complex eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for the modified cavity and makes it possible to predict Green......'s functions. The results, which are validated experimentally, show that a microperforated plate can provide substantial attenuation of modes in a cavity. One possible application of these findings is the treatment of boiler tones in heat-exchanger cavities....

  4. Fuzzy clustering-based segmented attenuation correction in whole-body PET

    CERN Document Server

    Zaidi, H; Boudraa, A; Slosman, DO

    2001-01-01

    Segmented-based attenuation correction is now a widely accepted technique to reduce noise contribution of measured attenuation correction. In this paper, we present a new method for segmenting transmission images in positron emission tomography. This reduces the noise on the correction maps while still correcting for differing attenuation coefficients of specific tissues. Based on the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) algorithm, the method segments the PET transmission images into a given number of clusters to extract specific areas of differing attenuation such as air, the lungs and soft tissue, preceded by a median filtering procedure. The reconstructed transmission image voxels are therefore segmented into populations of uniform attenuation based on the human anatomy. The clustering procedure starts with an over-specified number of clusters followed by a merging process to group clusters with similar properties and remove some undesired substructures using anatomical knowledge. The method is unsupervised, adaptive and a...

  5. Escherichia coli Attenuation by Fe Electrocoagulation in Synthetic Bengal Groundwater: Effect of pH and Natural Organic Matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delaire, Caroline; van Genuchten, Case M; Nelson, Kara L; Amrose, Susan E; Gadgil, Ashok J

    2015-08-18

    Technologies addressing both arsenic and microbial contamination of Bengal groundwater are needed. Fe electrocoagulation (Fe-EC), a simple process relying on the dissolution of an Fe(0) anode to produce Fe(III) precipitates, has been shown to efficiently remove arsenic from groundwater at low cost. We investigated Escherichia coli (E. coli) attenuation by Fe-EC in synthetic Bengal groundwater as a function of Fe dosage rate, total Fe dosed, pH, and presence of natural organic matter (NOM). A 2.5 mM Fe dosage simultaneously achieved over 4-log E. coli attenuation and arsenic removal from 450 to below 10 μg/L. E. coli reduction was significantly enhanced at pH 6.6 compared to pH 7.5, which we linked to the decreased rate of Fe(II) oxidation at lower pH. 3 mg/L-C of NOM (Suwanee River fulvic acid) did not significantly affect E. coli attenuation. Live-dead staining and comparisons of Fe-EC with chemical coagulation controls showed that the primary mechanism of E. coli attenuation is physical removal with Fe(III) precipitates, with inactivation likely contributing as well at lower pH. Transmission electron microscopy showed that EC precipitates adhere to and bridge individual E. coli cells, resulting in large bacteria-Fe aggregates that can be removed by gravitational settling. Our results point to the promising ability of Fe-EC to treat arsenic and bacterial contamination simultaneously at low cost.

  6. Time-domain simulation of constitutive relations for nonlinear acoustics including relaxation for frequency power law attenuation media modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez, Noé; Camarena, Francisco; Redondo, Javier; Sánchez-Morcillo, Víctor; Konofagou, Elisa E.

    2015-10-01

    We report a numerical method for solving the constitutive relations of nonlinear acoustics, where multiple relaxation processes are included in a generalized formulation that allows the time-domain numerical solution by an explicit finite differences scheme. Thus, the proposed physical model overcomes the limitations of the one-way Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya-Kuznetsov (KZK) type models and, due to the Lagrangian density is implicitly included in the calculation, the proposed method also overcomes the limitations of Westervelt equation in complex configurations for medical ultrasound. In order to model frequency power law attenuation and dispersion, such as observed in biological media, the relaxation parameters are fitted to both exact frequency power law attenuation/dispersion media and also empirically measured attenuation of a variety of tissues that does not fit an exact power law. Finally, a computational technique based on artificial relaxation is included to correct the non-negligible numerical dispersion of the finite difference scheme, and, on the other hand, improve stability trough artificial attenuation when shock waves are present. This technique avoids the use of high-order finite-differences schemes leading to fast calculations. The present algorithm is especially suited for practical configuration where spatial discontinuities are present in the domain (e.g. axisymmetric domains or zero normal velocity boundary conditions in general). The accuracy of the method is discussed by comparing the proposed simulation solutions to one dimensional analytical and k-space numerical solutions.

  7. An analysis of some aspects of the attenuation - Scatter functions in brachytherapy dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klevenhagen, S.C.

    1996-01-01

    An analysis is presented of the attenuation-scatter functions radial dose functions employed in brachytherapy dosimetry which accounts for the interplay between attenuation and scattering along the radial distance from the source. Some of the characteristics of these functions are still not established with certainty and are subject of misinterpretation. Such issues like whether they should be normalized or not, particularly in relation to the currently employed source strength specification in terms of air kerma, are not as yet agreed. In the literature, the functions are presented either as normalized or non-normalized but the differences between them are wrongly interpreted as being due to either computational or experimental uncertainties. Furthermore, there is uncertainty about the attenuation-scatter ratio very close to the brachytherapy sources and, in the case of some functions, at larger radial distances. Although the function's value at close distance may seem of lesser dosimetric relevance, it is important if one wants the underlying physics to be correct. These problems were studied in this analysis on the basis of the available data. An experiment was also carried out in order to determine the scatter component in the close vicinity to the source. The study is based on the data for Iridium-192 but the discussion and conclusions are relevant to all types of brachytherapy sources. It is concluded in this analysis that: i) it is incorrect to be comparing the normalised with non-normalised functions; ii) only non-normalised (the natural) functions such as that derived by Mesiberger et al (1968) or Sakelliou et al (1992) are corrected for dose calculation systems based on the recommended air kerma source specification; iii) the function should not have a value of unity at r = 0 because of the scatter domination over attenuation in the space around the source and; iv) the Van Kleffens-Star function is in error at larger radial distances. (author). 22 refs, 7

  8. An analysis of some aspects of the attenuation - Scatter functions in brachytherapy dosimetry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klevenhagen, S C [The Royal London Hospital, London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Medical Physics

    1996-08-01

    An analysis is presented of the attenuation-scatter functions radial dose functions employed in brachytherapy dosimetry which accounts for the interplay between attenuation and scattering along the radial distance from the source. Some of the characteristics of these functions are still not established with certainty and are subject of misinterpretation. Such issues like whether they should be normalized or not, particularly in relation to the currently employed source strength specification in terms of air kerma, are not as yet agreed. In the literature, the functions are presented either as normalized or non-normalized but the differences between them are wrongly interpreted as being due to either computational or experimental uncertainties. Furthermore, there is uncertainty about the attenuation-scatter ratio very close to the brachytherapy sources and, in the case of some functions, at larger radial distances. Although the function`s value at close distance may seem of lesser dosimetric relevance, it is important if one wants the underlying physics to be correct. These problems were studied in this analysis on the basis of the available data. An experiment was also carried out in order to determine the scatter component in the close vicinity to the source. The study is based on the data for Iridium-192 but the discussion and conclusions are relevant to all types of brachytherapy sources. It is concluded in this analysis that: i) it is incorrect to be comparing the normalised with non-normalised functions; ii) only non-normalised (the natural) functions such as that derived by Mesiberger et al (1968) or Sakelliou et al (1992) are corrected for dose calculation systems based on the recommended air kerma source specification; iii) the function should not have a value of unity at r = 0 because of the scatter domination over attenuation in the space around the source and; iv) the Van Kleffens-Star function is in error at larger radial distances. 22 refs, 7 figs.

  9. Investigation of photon attenuation coefficients for marble

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Basyigit, C; Akkurt, I; Kilincarslan, S; Akkurt, A

    2005-01-01

    The total linear attenuation coefficients μ (cm -1 ) have been obtained using the XCOM program at photon energies of 1 keV to 1 GeV for six different natural marbles produced in different places in Turkey. The individual contribution of photon interaction processes to the total linear attenuation coefficients for marble has been investigated. The calculated results were also compared with the measurements. The results obtained for marble were also compared with concrete. (note)

  10. Empirical Relations for Optical Attenuation Prediction from Liquid Water Content of Fog

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. S. Khan

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Simultaneous measurements of the liquid water content (LWC and optical attenuation have been analyzed to predict optical attenuation caused by fog particles. Attenuation has been measured at two different wavelengths, 830 nm and 1550 nm, across co-located links. Five months measured data have been processed to assess power-law empirical models, which estimate optical attenuation from the LWC. The proposed models are compared with other published models and are demonstrated to perform sufficiently well to predict optical attenuation if the LWC values are available.

  11. Practical method of breast attenuation correction for cardiac SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, Anderson de; Nogueira, Tindyua; Gutterres, Ricardo Fraga; Megueriam, Berdj Aram; Santos, Goncalo Rodrigues dos

    2007-01-01

    The breast attenuation effects on SPECT (Single Photon Emission Tomography) myocardium perfusion procedures have been lately scope of continuous inquiry. The requested attenuation correction factors are usually achieved by transmission analysis, making up the exposure of a standard external source to the SPECT, as a routine step. However, its high cost makes this methodology not fully available to the most of nuclear medicines services in Brazil and abroad. To overcome the problem, a new trend is presented in this work, implementing computational models to balance the breast attenuation effects on the left ventricle anterior wall, during myocardium perfusion scintigraphy procedures with SPECT. A neural network was put on in order to provide the attenuation correction indexes, based upon the following patients individual biotypes features: mass, age, height, chest and breast thicknesses, heart size, as well as the imparted activity intake levels. (author)

  12. Practical method of breast attenuation correction for cardiac SPECT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliveira, Anderson de; Nogueira, Tindyua; Gutterres, Ricardo Fraga [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao Geral de Instalacoes Medicas e Industriais (CGMI)]. E-mails: anderson@cnen.gov.br; tnogueira@cnen.gov.br; rguterre@cnen.gov.br; Megueriam, Berdj Aram [Instituto Nacional do Cancer (INCA), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: megueriam@hotmail.com; Santos, Goncalo Rodrigues dos [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: goncalo@cnen.gov.br

    2007-07-01

    The breast attenuation effects on SPECT (Single Photon Emission Tomography) myocardium perfusion procedures have been lately scope of continuous inquiry. The requested attenuation correction factors are usually achieved by transmission analysis, making up the exposure of a standard external source to the SPECT, as a routine step. However, its high cost makes this methodology not fully available to the most of nuclear medicines services in Brazil and abroad. To overcome the problem, a new trend is presented in this work, implementing computational models to balance the breast attenuation effects on the left ventricle anterior wall, during myocardium perfusion scintigraphy procedures with SPECT. A neural network was put on in order to provide the attenuation correction indexes, based upon the following patients individual biotypes features: mass, age, height, chest and breast thicknesses, heart size, as well as the imparted activity intake levels. (author)

  13. Attenuation correction for the NIH ATLAS small animal PET scanner

    CERN Document Server

    Yao, Rutao; Liow, JeihSan; Seidel, Jurgen

    2003-01-01

    We evaluated two methods of attenuation correction for the NIH ATLAS small animal PET scanner: 1) a CT-based method that derives 511 keV attenuation coefficients (mu) by extrapolation from spatially registered CT images; and 2) an analytic method based on the body outline of emission images and an empirical mu. A specially fabricated attenuation calibration phantom with cylindrical inserts that mimic different body tissues was used to derive the relationship to convert CT values to (I for PET. The methods were applied to three test data sets: 1) a uniform cylinder phantom, 2) the attenuation calibration phantom, and 3) a mouse injected with left bracket **1**8F right bracket FDG. The CT-based attenuation correction factors were larger in non-uniform regions of the imaging subject, e.g. mouse head, than the analytic method. The two methods had similar correction factors for regions with uniform density and detectable emission source distributions.

  14. Acousto-optic measurements of ultrasound attenuation in tellurium dioxide crystal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voloshinov, V. B.; Lemyaskina, E. A.

    1996-01-01

    The paper is devoted to experimental investigation of ultrasound propagation in tellurium dioxide monocrystal. In particular, attenuation of slow shear acoustic modes in the crystal was measured. The measurements were performed by acousto-optic methods using probing of acoustic column by a laser beam. The paper describes measurements of acoustic attenuation coefficient for slow shear ultrasonic waves propagating at an angle =4.5 O with respect to the (110) direction in the (110) plane. The investigation was made at acoustic frequency f = 100 MHz with pulsed acoustic waves and with an optical beam of a He-Ne laser. It is found that the attenuation coefficient is α = 0.57 cm -1 ± 15 %. The attenuation at acoustic frequencies f ≥ 100 MHz influences performance characteristics of acousto-optical devices based on tellurium dioxide. As proved, spectral resolution of a quasicollinear acoustooptic filter decreases by a factor of 2 compared to a case of the attenuation absence. (authors)

  15. Lattice Boltzmann simulations of attenuation-driven acoustic streaming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haydock, David; Yeomans, J M

    2003-01-01

    We show that lattice Boltzmann simulations can be used to model the attenuation-driven acoustic streaming produced by a travelling wave. Comparisons are made to analytical results and to the streaming pattern produced by an imposed body force approximating the Reynolds stresses. We predict the streaming patterns around a porous material in an attenuating acoustic field

  16. Wave attenuation across a tidal marsh in San Francisco Bay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster-Martinez, Madeline R.; Lacy, Jessica; Ferner, Matthew C.; Variano, Evan A.

    2018-01-01

    Wave attenuation is a central process in the mechanics of a healthy salt marsh. Understanding how wave attenuation varies with vegetation and hydrodynamic conditions informs models of other marsh processes that are a function of wave energy (e.g. sediment transport) and allows for the incorporation of marshes into coastal protection plans. Here, we examine the evolution of wave height across a tidal salt marsh in San Francisco Bay. Instruments were deployed along a cross-shore transect, starting on the mudflat and crossing through zones dominated by Spartina foliosa and Salicornia pacifica. This dataset is the first to quantify wave attenuation for these vegetation species, which are abundant in the intertidal zone of California estuaries. Measurements were collected in the summer and winter to assess seasonal variation in wave attenuation. Calculated drag coefficients of S. foliosa and S. pacifica were similar, indicating equal amounts of vegetation would lead to similar energy dissipation; however, S. pacifica has much greater biomass close to the bed (<20 cm) and retains biomass throughout the year, and therefore, it causes more total attenuation. S. foliosa dies back in the winter, and waves often grow across this section of the marsh. For both vegetation types, attenuation was greatest for low water depths, when the vegetation was emergent. For both seasons, attenuation rates across S. pacifica were the highest and were greater than published attenuation rates across similar (Spartina alterniflora) salt marshes for the comparable depths. These results can inform designs for marsh restorations and management plans in San Francisco Bay and other estuaries containing these species.

  17. Adaptive attenuation of aliased ground roll using the shearlet transform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosseini, Seyed Abolfazl; Javaherian, Abdolrahim; Hassani, Hossien; Torabi, Siyavash; Sadri, Maryam

    2015-01-01

    Attenuation of ground roll is an essential step in seismic data processing. Spatial aliasing of the ground roll may cause the overlap of the ground roll with reflections in the f-k domain. The shearlet transform is a directional and multidimensional transform that separates the events with different dips and generates subimages in different scales and directions. In this study, the shearlet transform was used adaptively to attenuate aliased and non-aliased ground roll. After defining a filtering zone, an input shot record is divided into segments. Each segment overlaps adjacent segments. To apply the shearlet transform on each segment, the subimages containing aliased and non-aliased ground roll, the locations of these events on each subimage are selected adaptively. Based on these locations, mute is applied on the selected subimages. The filtered segments are merged together, using the Hanning function, after applying the inverse shearlet transform. This adaptive process of ground roll attenuation was tested on synthetic data, and field shot records from west of Iran. Analysis of the results using the f-k spectra revealed that the non-aliased and most of the aliased ground roll were attenuated using the proposed adaptive attenuation procedure. Also, we applied this method on shot records of a 2D land survey, and the data sets before and after ground roll attenuation were stacked and compared. The stacked section after ground roll attenuation contained less linear ground roll noise and more continuous reflections in comparison with the stacked section before the ground roll attenuation. The proposed method has some drawbacks such as more run time in comparison with traditional methods such as f-k filtering and reduced performance when the dip and frequency content of aliased ground roll are the same as those of the reflections.

  18. Occurrence and in-stream attenuation of wastewater-derived pharmaceuticals in Iberian rivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acuña, Vicenç; von Schiller, Daniel; García-Galán, Maria Jesús; Rodríguez-Mozaz, Sara; Corominas, Lluís; Petrovic, Mira; Poch, Manel; Barceló, Damià; Sabater, Sergi

    2015-01-15

    A multitude of pharmaceuticals enter surface waters via discharges of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), and many raise environmental and health concerns. Chemical fate models predict their concentrations using estimates of mass loading, dilution and in-stream attenuation. However, current comprehension of the attenuation rates remains a limiting factor for predictive models. We assessed in-stream attenuation of 75 pharmaceuticals in 4 river segments, aiming to characterize in-stream attenuation variability among different pharmaceutical compounds, as well as among river segments differing in environmental conditions. Our study revealed that in-stream attenuation was highly variable among pharmaceuticals and river segments and that none of the considered pharmaceutical physicochemical and molecular properties proved to be relevant in determining the mean attenuation rates. Instead, the octanol-water partition coefficient (Kow) influenced the variability of rates among river segments, likely due to its effect on sorption to sediments and suspended particles, and therefore influencing the balance between the different attenuation mechanisms (biotransformation, photolysis, sorption, and volatilization). The magnitude of the measured attenuation rates urges scientists to consider them as important as dilution when aiming to predict concentrations in freshwater ecosystems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Characterizing X-ray Attenuation of Containerized Cargo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Birrer, N. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Divin, C. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Glenn, S. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Martz, H. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Wang, G. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2016-08-02

    X-ray inspection systems can be used to detect radiological and nuclear threats in imported cargo. In order to better understand performance of these systems, the attenuation characteristics of imported cargo need to be determined. This project focused on developing image processing algorithms for segmenting cargo and using x-ray attenuation to quantify equivalent steel thickness to determine cargo density. These algorithms were applied to over 450 cargo radiographs. The results are summarized in this report.

  20. Attenuation of spin resonance signals in media with the multi-component system of collectivized electrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vojtenko, V.A.

    1995-01-01

    Universal relaxation theory of spectral line form at electron scattering light with spin flip at scattering of neutrons and at electron paramagnetic resonance, is plotted. Signals of spin resonances are shown to be subjected to strong attenuation caused by mutual transformations of various current carriers in multicomponent spin systems contained in intermetallic actinides with heavy fermions, in HTSC-crystals, in indirect highly alloyed semiconductors, solid solutions and superlattices. Physical reasons of observation of light strong scattering with spin flip in intermetallic actinides with semi-width independent of the wave vector are discussed. 19 refs

  1. Rational reconstructions of modern physics

    CERN Document Server

    Mittelstaedt, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Newton’s classical physics and its underlying ontology are loaded with several metaphysical hypotheses that cannot be justified by rational reasoning nor by experimental evidence. Furthermore, it is well known that some of these hypotheses are not contained in the great theories of Modern Physics, such as the theory of Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. This book shows that, on the basis of Newton’s classical physics and by rational reconstruction, the theory of Special Relativity as well as Quantum Mechanics can be obtained by partly eliminating or attenuating the metaphysical hypotheses. Moreover, it is shown that these reconstructions do not require additional hypotheses or new experimental results. In the second edition the rational reconstructions are completed with respect to General Relativity and Cosmology. In addition, the statistics of quantum objects is elaborated in more detail with respect to the rational reconstruction of quantum mechanics. The new material completes the approach of t...

  2. Using Auditory Steady-State Responses for Measuring Hearing Protector Attenuation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olivier Valentin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Present methods of measuring the attenuation of hearing protection devices (HPDs have limitations. Objective measurements such as field microphone in real-ear do not assess bone-conducted sound. Psychophysical measurements such as real-ear attenuation at threshold (REAT are biased due to the low frequency masking effects from test subjects’ physiological noise and the variability of measurements based on subjective responses. An auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs procedure is explored as a technique which might overcome these limitations. Subjects and Methods: Pure tone stimuli (500 and 1000 Hz, amplitude modulated at 40 Hz, are presented to 10 normal-hearing adults through headphones at three levels in 10 dB steps. Two conditions were assessed: unoccluded ear canal and occluded ear canal. ASSR amplitude data as a function of the stimulation level are linearized using least-square regressions. The “physiological attenuation” is then calculated as the average difference between the two measurements. The technical feasibility of measuring earplug attenuation is demonstrated for the group average attenuation across subjects. Results: No significant statistical difference is found between the average REAT attenuation and the average ASSR-based attenuation. Conclusion: Feasibility is not yet demonstrated for individual subjects since differences between the estimates occurred for some subjects.

  3. Analytical inversion formula for uniformly attenuated fan-beam projections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weng, Y.; Zeng, G.L.; Gullberg, G.T.

    1997-01-01

    In deriving algorithms to reconstruct single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) projection data, it is important that the algorithm compensates for photon attenuation in order to obtain quantitative reconstruction results. A convolution backprojection algorithm was derived by Tretiak and Metz to reconstruct two-dimensional (2-D) transaxial slices from uniformly attenuated parallel-beam projections. Using transformation of coordinates, this algorithm can be modified to obtain a formulation useful to reconstruct uniformly attenuated fan-beam projections. Unlike that for parallel-beam projections, this formulation does not produce a filtered backprojection reconstruction algorithm but instead has a formulation that is an inverse integral operator with a spatially varying kernel. This algorithm thus requires more computation time than does the filtered backprojection reconstruction algorithm for the uniformly attenuated parallel-beam case. However, the fan-beam reconstructions demonstrate the same image quality as that of parallel-beam reconstructions

  4. Gamma ray attenuation coefficient measurement for neutron-absorbent materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jalali, Majid; Mohammadi, Ali

    2008-01-01

    The compounds Na 2 B 4 O 7 , H 3 BO 3 , CdCl 2 and NaCl and their solutions attenuate gamma rays in addition to neutron absorption. These compounds are widely used in the shielding of neutron sources, reactor control and neutron converters. Mass attenuation coefficients of gamma related to the four compounds aforementioned, in energies 662, 778.9, 867.38, 964.1, 1085.9, 1173, 1212.9, 1299.1,1332 and 1408 keV, have been determined by the γ rays transmission method in a good geometry setup; also, these coefficients were calculated by MCNP code. A comparison between experiments, simulations and Xcom code has shown that the study has potential application for determining the attenuation coefficient of various compound materials. Experiment and computation show that H 3 BO 3 with the lowest average Z has the highest gamma ray attenuation coefficient among the aforementioned compounds

  5. Brunenders: a partially attenuated historic poliovirus type I vaccine strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders, Barbara P; Liu, Ying; Brandjes, Alies; van Hoek, Vladimir; de Los Rios Oakes, Isabel; Lewis, John; Wimmer, Eckard; Custers, Jerome H H V; Schuitemaker, Hanneke; Cello, Jeronimo; Edo-Matas, Diana

    2015-09-01

    Brunenders, a type I poliovirus (PV) strain, was developed in 1952 by J. F. Enders and colleagues through serial in vitro passaging of the parental Brunhilde strain, and was reported to display partial neuroattenuation in monkeys. This phenotype of attenuation encouraged two vaccine manufacturers to adopt Brunenders as the type I component for their inactivated poliovirus vaccines (IPVs) in the 1950s, although today no licensed IPV vaccine contains Brunenders. Here we confirmed, in a transgenic mouse model, the report of Enders on the reduced neurovirulence of Brunenders. Although dramatically neuroattenuated relative to WT PV strains, Brunenders remains more virulent than the attenuated oral vaccine strain, Sabin 1. Importantly, the neuroattenuation of Brunenders does not affect in vitro growth kinetics and in vitro antigenicity, which were similar to those of Mahoney, the conventional type I IPV vaccine strain. We showed, by full nucleotide sequencing, that Brunhilde and Brunenders differ at 31 nucleotides, eight of which lead to amino acid changes, all located in the capsid. Upon exchanging the Brunenders capsid sequence with that of the Mahoney capsid, WT neurovirulence was regained in vivo, suggesting a role for the capsid mutations in Brunenders attenuation. To date, as polio eradication draws closer, the switch to using attenuated strains for IPV is actively being pursued. Brunenders preceded this novel strategy as a partially attenuated IPV strain, accompanied by decades of successful use in the field. Providing data on the attenuation of Brunenders may be of value in the further construction of attenuated PV strains to support the grand pursuit of the global eradication of poliomyelitis.

  6. Viability of natural attenuation in a petroleum-contaminated shallow sandy aquifer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jin-Yong; Lee, Kang-Kun

    2003-01-01

    More than 20 years would be required to clean up the site by natural attenuation alone. - This study focused on evaluating and quantifying the potential of natural attenuation of groundwater at a petroleum-contaminated site in an industrial area of a satellite city of Seoul, Korea. Groundwater at the study site was contaminated with toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (TEX). Eight rounds of groundwater sampling and subsequent chemical analyses were performed over a period of 3 years. The groundwater quality data suggest that TEX concentrations at this site have been decreasing with time and that the TEX plume is at a quasi-steady state. Trend analysis, changes in mass flux and plume area also confirmed that the TEX plume has reached a quasi-steady state. The proportion of the total attenuation attributable to biodegradation has decreased over the monitoring period while contribution of other attenuation processes, such as dilution or dispersion, has increased. Based on the calculated attenuation rates, it would take more than 20 years to clean up the site by natural attenuation alone

  7. Radiation-induced attenuation in integrated optical materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evans, B.D.

    1989-01-01

    This paper reports that three materials commonly employed in opto-electronic integrated circuits evaluated for radiation-induced optical attenuation in the range 300 nm to 3000 nm. These include optically clear epoxy and crystalline lithium niobate after Co-60 exposure and crystalline tellurium dioxide after mixed gamma/fast-neutron exposure. In all these materials, however, induced loss was restricted to shorter wavelengths; attenuation induced at the telecommunications windows near 850, 1300 and 1550 nm was <0.1 dB/cm

  8. Principles underlying rational design of live attenuated influenza vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Yo Han

    2012-01-01

    Despite recent innovative advances in molecular virology and the developments of vaccines, influenza virus remains a serious burden for human health. Vaccination has been considered a primary countermeasure for prevention of influenza infection. Live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIVs) are particularly attracting attention as an effective strategy due to several advantages over inactivated vaccines. Cold-adaptation, as a classical means for attenuating viral virulence, has been successfully used for generating safe and effective donor strains of LAIVs against seasonal epidemics and occasional pandemics. Recently, the advent of reverse genetics technique expedited a variety of rational strategies to broaden the pool of LAIVs. Considering the breadth of antigenic diversity of influenza virus, the pool of LAIVs is likely to equip us with better options for controlling influenza pandemics. With a brief reflection on classical attenuating strategies used at the initial stage of development of LAIVs, especially on the principles underlying the development of cold-adapted LAIVs, we further discuss and outline other attenuation strategies especially with respect to the rationales for attenuation, and their practicality for mass production. Finally, we propose important considerations for a rational vaccine design, which will provide us with practical guidelines for improving the safety and effectiveness of LAIVs. PMID:23596576

  9. Cooperative effect of the attenuation determinants derived from poliovirus sabin 1 strain is essential for attenuation of enterovirus 71 in the NOD/SCID mouse infection model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arita, Minetaro; Ami, Yasushi; Wakita, Takaji; Shimizu, Hiroyuki

    2008-02-01

    Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a causative agent of hand, foot, and mouth disease and is also associated with serious neurological disorders. An attenuated EV71 strain [EV71(S1-3')] has been established in the cynomolgus monkey infection model; this strain contains the attenuation determinants derived from the type 1 poliovirus vaccine strain, Sabin 1 [PV1(Sabin)], in the 5' nontranslated region (NTR), 3D polymerase, and 3' NTR. In this study, we analyzed the effect of the attenuation determinants of PV1(Sabin) on EV71 infection in a NOD/SCID mouse infection model. We isolated a mouse-adapted EV71 strain [EV71(NOD/SCID)] that causes paralysis of the hind limbs in 3- to 4-week-old NOD/SCID mice by adaptation of the virulent EV71(Nagoya) strain in the brains of NOD/SCID mice. A single mutation at nucleotide 2876 that caused an amino acid change in capsid protein VP1 (change of the glycine at position 145 to glutamic acid) was essential for the mouse-adapted phenotype in NOD/SCID mice. Next, we introduced attenuation determinants derived from PV1(Sabin) along with the mouse adaptation mutation into the EV71(Nagoya) genome. In 4-week-old mice, the determinants in the 3D polymerase and 3' NTR, which are the major temperature-sensitive determinants, had a strong effect on attenuation. In contrast, the effect of individual determinants was weak in 3-week-old NOD/SCID mice, and all the determinants were required for substantial attenuation. These results suggest that a cooperative effect of the attenuation determinants of PV1(Sabin) is essential for attenuated neurovirulence of EV71.

  10. Quantitative contrast-enhanced CT attenuation evaluation of osseous metastases following chemotherapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Connie Y.; Simeone, F.J.; Torriani, Martin; Bredella, Miriam A. [Massachusetts General Hospital, Division of Musculoskeletal Imaging and Intervention, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States)

    2017-10-15

    Osseous metastases often undergo an osteoblastic healing response following chemotherapy. The purpose of our study was to demonstrate the quantitative CT changes in attenuation of osseous metastases before and after chemotherapy. Our study was IRB approved and HIPAA compliant. Our cohort consisted of 86 consecutive cancer patients with contrast-enhanced CTs before and 14 ± 2 (12-25) months after initiation of chemotherapy (60 ± 11 years, 36 males, 50 females). The average and maximum metastasis attenuations were measured in Hounsfield units (HU) by two readers. Treatment effects were assessed using paired t-tests and Fisher exact tests. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated. Patient records were reviewed to determine the patient's clinical status (worse, unchanged, or improved) at the time of follow-up CT. The distribution of lesion types was as follows: lytic (30/86, 35%), blastic (43/86, 50%), and mixed lytic-blastic (13/86, 15%). There was a significant increase in average and maximum CT attenuation of metastases following chemotherapy for all patients, which remained statistically significant when stratified by lesion type, clinical status (worsening or improving/stable), cancer type (breast, lung), and radiation therapy (P < 0.05). In a subgroup of patients whose osseous metastases decreased in average attenuation (14/86, 16%), more patients had a worse clinical status (11/14, 79%) (P = 0.02). ICC was almost perfect for average attenuation and substantial for maximum attenuation. Quantitative assessment of osseous metastatic disease using CT attenuation measurements demonstrated a statistically significant increase in attenuation more than 12 months after initiation of chemotherapy. (orig.)

  11. Attenuation of the gamma rays in tissues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arcos P, A.; Rodriguez N, S.; Pinedo S, A.; Amador V, P.; Chacon R, A.; Vega C, H.R.

    2005-01-01

    The mass and lineal attenuation coefficient and of hepatic tissue, muscular, osseous and of brain before gamma rays of 10 -3 to 10 5 MeV were calculated. For the case of the osseous tissue the calculation was made for the cartilage, the cortical tissue and the bone marrow. During the calculations the elementary composition of the tissues of human origin was used. The calculations include by separate the Photoelectric effect, the Compton scattering and the Pair production, as well as the total. For to establish a comparison with the attenuation capacities, the coefficients of the water, the aluminum and the lead also were calculated. The study was complemented measuring the attenuation coefficient of hepatic tissue of bovine before gamma rays of 0.662 MeV of a source of 137 Cs. The measurement was made through of an experiment of photons transmission through samples frozen of hepatic tissue and with a Geiger-Mueller detector. (Author)

  12. A method for estimating the diffuse attenuation coefficient (KdPAR)from paired temperature sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Read, Jordan S.; Rose, Kevin C.; Winslow, Luke A.; Read, Emily K.

    2015-01-01

    A new method for estimating the diffuse attenuation coefficient for photosynthetically active radiation (KdPAR) from paired temperature sensors was derived. We show that during cases where the attenuation of penetrating shortwave solar radiation is the dominant source of temperature changes, time series measurements of water temperatures at multiple depths (z1 and z2) are related to one another by a linear scaling factor (a). KdPAR can then be estimated by the simple equation KdPAR ln(a)/(z2/z1). A suggested workflow is presented that outlines procedures for calculating KdPAR according to this paired temperature sensor (PTS) method. This method is best suited for conditions when radiative temperature gains are large relative to physical noise. These conditions occur frequently on water bodies with low wind and/or high KdPARs but can be used for other types of lakes during time periods of low wind and/or where spatially redundant measurements of temperatures are available. The optimal vertical placement of temperature sensors according to a priori knowledge of KdPAR is also described. This information can be used to inform the design of future sensor deployments using the PTS method or for campaigns where characterizing sub-daily changes in temperatures is important. The PTS method provides a novel method to characterize light attenuation in aquatic ecosystems without expensive radiometric equipment or the user subjectivity inherent in Secchi depth measurements. This method also can enable the estimation of KdPAR at higher frequencies than many manual monitoring programs allow.

  13. Gamma ray attenuation coefficient measurement for neutron-absorbent materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jalali, Majid [Isfahan Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRT), Reactor and Accelerators Research and Development School, Atomic Energy Organization (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], E-mail: m_jalali@entc.org.ir; Mohammadi, Ali [Faculty of Science, Department of Physics, University of Kashan, Km. 6, Ravand Road, Kashan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2008-05-15

    The compounds Na{sub 2}B{sub 4}O{sub 7}, H{sub 3}BO{sub 3}, CdCl{sub 2} and NaCl and their solutions attenuate gamma rays in addition to neutron absorption. These compounds are widely used in the shielding of neutron sources, reactor control and neutron converters. Mass attenuation coefficients of gamma related to the four compounds aforementioned, in energies 662, 778.9, 867.38, 964.1, 1085.9, 1173, 1212.9, 1299.1,1332 and 1408 keV, have been determined by the {gamma} rays transmission method in a good geometry setup; also, these coefficients were calculated by MCNP code. A comparison between experiments, simulations and Xcom code has shown that the study has potential application for determining the attenuation coefficient of various compound materials. Experiment and computation show that H{sub 3}BO{sub 3} with the lowest average Z has the highest gamma ray attenuation coefficient among the aforementioned compounds.

  14. Minimal residual cone-beam reconstruction with attenuation correction in SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La, Valerie; Grangeat, Pierre

    1998-01-01

    This paper presents an iterative method based on the minimal residual algorithm for tomographic attenuation compensated reconstruction from attenuated cone-beam projections given the attenuation distribution. Unlike conjugate-gradient based reconstruction techniques, the proposed minimal residual based algorithm solves directly a quasisymmetric linear system, which is a preconditioned system. Thus it avoids the use of normal equations, which improves the convergence rate. Two main contributions are introduced. First, a regularization method is derived for quasisymmetric problems, based on a Tikhonov-Phillips regularization applied to the factorization of the symmetric part of the system matrix. This regularization is made spatially adaptive to avoid smoothing the region of interest. Second, our existing reconstruction algorithm for attenuation correction in parallel-beam geometry is extended to cone-beam geometry. A circular orbit is considered. Two preconditioning operators are proposed: the first one is Grangeat's inversion formula and the second one is Feldkamp's inversion formula. Experimental results obtained on simulated data are presented and the shadow zone effect on attenuated data is illustrated. (author)

  15. Segmented attenuation correction using artificial neural networks in positron tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, S.K.; Nahmias, C.

    1996-01-01

    The measured attenuation correction technique is widely used in cardiac positron tomographic studies. However, the success of this technique is limited because of insufficient counting statistics achievable in practical transmission scan times, and of the scattered radiation in transmission measurement which leads to an underestimation of the attenuation coefficients. In this work, a segmented attenuation correction technique has been developed that uses artificial neural networks. The technique has been validated in phantoms and verified in human studies. The results indicate that attenuation coefficients measured in the segmented transmission image are accurate and reproducible. Activity concentrations measured in the reconstructed emission image can also be recovered accurately using this new technique. The accuracy of the technique is subject independent and insensitive to scatter contamination in the transmission data. This technique has the potential of reducing the transmission scan time, and satisfactory results are obtained if the transmission data contain about 400 000 true counts per plane. It can predict accurately the value of any attenuation coefficient in the range from air to water in a transmission image with or without scatter correction. (author)

  16. Intercomparison of attenuation correction algorithms for single-polarized X-band radars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lengfeld, K.; Berenguer, M.; Sempere Torres, D.

    2018-03-01

    Attenuation due to liquid water is one of the largest uncertainties in radar observations. The effects of attenuation are generally inversely proportional to the wavelength, i.e. observations from X-band radars are more affected by attenuation than those from C- or S-band systems. On the other hand, X-band radars can measure precipitation fields in higher temporal and spatial resolution and are more mobile and easier to install due to smaller antennas. A first algorithm for attenuation correction in single-polarized systems was proposed by Hitschfeld and Bordan (1954) (HB), but it gets unstable in case of small errors (e.g. in the radar calibration) and strong attenuation. Therefore, methods have been developed that restrict attenuation correction to keep the algorithm stable, using e.g. surface echoes (for space-borne radars) and mountain returns (for ground radars) as a final value (FV), or adjustment of the radar constant (C) or the coefficient α. In the absence of mountain returns, measurements from C- or S-band radars can be used to constrain the correction. All these methods are based on the statistical relation between reflectivity and specific attenuation. Another way to correct for attenuation in X-band radar observations is to use additional information from less attenuated radar systems, e.g. the ratio between X-band and C- or S-band radar measurements. Lengfeld et al. (2016) proposed such a method based isotonic regression of the ratio between X- and C-band radar observations along the radar beam. This study presents a comparison of the original HB algorithm and three algorithms based on the statistical relation between reflectivity and specific attenuation as well as two methods implementing additional information of C-band radar measurements. Their performance in two precipitation events (one mainly convective and the other one stratiform) shows that a restriction of the HB is necessary to avoid instabilities. A comparison with vertically pointing

  17. [Accuracy of attenuation coefficient obtained by 137Cs single-transmission scanning in PET: comparison with conventional germanium line source].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsumoto, Keiichi; Kitamura, Keishi; Mizuta, Tetsuro; Shimizu, Keiji; Murase, Kenya; Senda, Michio

    2006-02-20

    Transmission scanning can be successfully performed with a Cs-137 single-photon-emitting point source for three-dimensional PET imaging. This method was effective for postinjection transmission scanning because of differences in physical energy. However, scatter contamination in the transmission data lowers measured attenuation coefficients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy of the influence of object scattering by measuring the attenuation coefficients on the transmission images. We also compared the results with the conventional germanium line source method. Two different types of PET scanner, the SET-3000 G/X (Shimadzu Corp.) and ECAT EXACT HR(+) (Siemens/CTI) , were used. For the transmission scanning, the SET-3000 G/X and ECAT HR(+) were the Cs-137 point source and Ge-68/Ga-68 line source, respectively. With the SET-3000 G/X, we performed transmission measurement at two energy gate settings, the standard 600-800 keV as well as 500-800 keV. The energy gate setting of the ECAT HR(+) was 350-650 keV. The effects of scattering in a uniform phantom with different cross-sectional areas ranging from 201 cm(2) to 314 cm(2) to 628 cm(2) (apposition of the two 20 cm diameter phantoms) and 943 cm(2) (stacking of the three 20 cm diameter phantoms) were acquired without emission activity. First, we evaluated the attenuation coefficients of the two different types of transmission scanning using region of interest (ROI) analysis. In addition, we evaluated the attenuation coefficients with and without segmentation for Cs-137 transmission images using the same analysis. The segmentation method was a histogram-based soft-tissue segmentation process that can also be applied to reconstructed transmission images. In the Cs-137 experiment, the maximum underestimation was 3% without segmentation, which was reduced to less than 1% with segmentation at the center of the largest phantom. In the Ge-68/Ga-68 experiment, the difference in mean attenuation

  18. Accuracy of attenuation coefficient obtained by 137Cs single-transmission scanning in PET. Comparison with conventional germanium line source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Keiichi; Shimizu, Keiji; Senda, Michio; Kitamura, Keishi; Mizuta, Tetsuro; Murase, Kenya

    2006-01-01

    Transmission scanning can be successfully performed with a Cs-137 single-photon-emitting point source for three-dimensional PET imaging. This method was effective for postinjection transmission scanning because of differences in physical energy. However, scatter contamination in the transmission data lowers measured attenuation coefficients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy of the influence of object scattering by measuring the attenuation coefficients on the transmission images. We also compared the results with the conventional germanium line source method. Two different types of PET scanner, the SET-3000 G/X (Shimadzu Corp.) and ECAT EXACT HR + (Siemens/CTI), were used. For the transmission scanning, the SET-3000 G/X and ECAT HR + were the Cs-137 point source and Ge-68/Ga-68 line source, respectively. With the SET-3000 G/X, we performed transmission measurement at two energy gate settings, the standard 600-800 keV as well as 500-800 keV. The energy gate setting of the ECAT HR 2 + was 350-650 keV. The effects of scattering in a uniform phantom with different cross-sectional areas ranging from 201 cm 2 to 314 cm 2 to 628 cm 2 (apposition of the two 20 cm diameter phantoms) and 943 cm 2 (stacking of the three 20 cm diameter phantoms) were acquired without emission activity. First, we evaluated the attenuation coefficients of the two different types of transmission scanning using region of interest (ROI) analysis. In addition, we evaluated the attenuation coefficients with and without segmentation for Cs-137 transmission images using the same analysis. The segmentation method was a histogram-based soft-tissue segmentation process that can also be applied to reconstructed transmission images. In the Cs-137 experiment, the maximum underestimation was 3% without segmentation, which was reduced to less than 1% with segmentation at the center of the largest phantom. In the Ge-68/Ga-68 experiment, the difference in mean attenuation coefficients

  19. Performance of composites made with polymers of silicone rubber and waste of lead on the properties of attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barros, Frieda S.; Paredes, Ramon S.C.

    2009-01-01

    All facilities and personnel protection equipment which use ionizing radiation need protection. Based on this statement, several researchers have aimed their projects searching for new materials that present good behavior facing the attenuation properties. This research aims at the development of a composite by using the silicon rubber associated to the residue of lead in powder, obtained via the recycling of components of lead from automobile batteries. In this work , were checked the morphological physical - chemical properties of the materials isolated and associated, the calorimetrical properties of the performance of the composite related to the attenuation for X-Rays and gamma, through experimental rehearsals and computational simulation. For mixtures with 40% of lead residue, referential value in mass, favorable results were obtained about armor. In this way, it was allied the good performance of the composite with a reduction of an environmental passive to the process of recycling lead. (author)

  20. Influence of different contributions of scatter and attenuation on the threshold values in contrast-based algorithms for volume segmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matheoud, Roberta; Della Monica, Patrizia; Secco, Chiara; Loi, Gianfranco; Krengli, Marco; Inglese, Eugenio; Brambilla, Marco

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this work is to evaluate the role of different amount of attenuation and scatter on FDG-PET image volume segmentation using a contrast-oriented method based on the target-to-background (TB) ratio and target dimensions. A phantom study was designed employing 3 phantom sets, which provided a clinical range of attenuation and scatter conditions, equipped with 6 spheres of different volumes (0.5-26.5 ml). The phantoms were: (1) the Hoffman 3-dimensional brain phantom, (2) a modified International Electro technical Commission (IEC) phantom with an annular ring of water bags of 3 cm thickness fit over the IEC phantom, and (3) a modified IEC phantom with an annular ring of water bags of 9 cm. The phantoms cavities were filled with a solution of FDG at 5.4 kBq/ml activity concentration, and the spheres with activity concentration ratios of about 16, 8, and 4 times the background activity concentration. Images were acquired with a Biograph 16 HI-REZ PET/CT scanner. Thresholds (TS) were determined as a percentage of the maximum intensity in the cross section area of the spheres. To reduce statistical fluctuations a nominal maximum value is calculated as the mean from all voxel > 95%. To find the TS value that yielded an area A best matching the true value, the cross section were auto-contoured in the attenuation corrected slices varying TS in step of 1%, until the area so determined differed by less than 10 mm² versus its known physical value. Multiple regression methods were used to derive an adaptive thresholding algorithm and to test its dependence on different conditions of attenuation and scatter. The errors of scatter and attenuation correction increased with increasing amount of attenuation and scatter in the phantoms. Despite these increasing inaccuracies, PET threshold segmentation algorithms resulted not influenced by the different condition of attenuation and scatter. The test of the hypothesis of coincident regression lines for the three phantoms used

  1. Radiation induced time dependent attenuation in a fiber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelly, R.E.; Lyons, P.B.; Looney, L.D.

    1985-01-01

    Characteristics describing the time dependent attenuation coefficient of an optical fiber during and following a very short and intense radiation pulse are analyzed. This problem is important for transmission applications when the fiber is subjected to gamma, electron, or neutron beams. Besides time, the attenuation coefficient is a function of temperature, dose rate, dose, nature of the radiation (n, e, γ), fiber composition and purity, pre-existing solid state defects, and wavelength of the transmitted signal. The peak attenuation for a given fiber is mainly determined by the dose rate and pulse length, but temperature and strain (or athermal) annealing also contribute to a partial recovery during the pulse duration. The peak attenuation per unit dose appears to be smaller at high doses, perhaps caused by particle track overlap, which produces a saturation effect. After pulse termination, the attenuation coefficient tends to recover towards its pre-radiation value at different rates, depending upon the factors mentioned above. In particular, ionized electrons relax back to the positive lattice ions at a rate which depends upon initial separation distance and temperature. The initial separation distance is a function of beam energy. Some electrons will encounter a trap in the lattice and may recombine by quantum mechanical tunneling or be removed by photons (hence, absorption). Besides ionization, radiation may induce lattice displacements which in turn produce additional absorption centers. The displacement contribution has a different time constant than that associated with ionization. These topics, as they influence fiber characteristics, are discussed, along with supporting experimental data

  2. Bulk sample self-attenuation correction by transmission measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, J.L.; Reilly, T.D.

    1976-01-01

    Various methods used in either finding or avoiding the attenuation correction in the passive γ-ray assay of bulk samples are reviewed. Detailed consideration is given to the transmission method, which involves experimental determination of the sample linear attenuation coefficient by measuring the transmission through the sample of a beam of gamma rays from an external source. The method was applied to box- and cylindrically-shaped samples

  3. An acoustic eikonal equation for attenuating transversely isotropic media with a vertical symmetry axis

    KAUST Repository

    Hao, Qi

    2016-11-21

    Seismic-wave attenuation is an important component of describing wave propagation. Certain regions, such as gas clouds inside the earth, exert highly localized attenuation. In fact, the anisotropic nature of the earth induces anisotropic attenuation because the quasi P-wave dispersion effect should be profound along the symmetry direction. We have developed a 2D acoustic eikonal equation governing the complex-valued traveltime of quasi P-waves in attenuating, transversely isotropic media with a vertical-symmetry axis (VTI). This equation is derived under the assumption that the complex-valued traveltime of quasi P-waves in attenuating VTI media are independent of the S-wave velocity parameter υS0 in Thomsen\\'s notation and the S-wave attenuation coefficient AS0 in Zhu and Tsvankin\\'s notation. We combine perturbation theory and Shanks transform to develop practical approximations to the acoustic attenuating eikonal equation, capable of admitting an analytical description of the attenuation in homogeneous media. For a horizontal-attenuating VTI layer, we also derive the nonhyperbolic approximations for the real and imaginary parts of the complex-valued reflection traveltime. These equations reveal that (1) the quasi SV-wave velocity and the corresponding quasi SV-wave attenuation coefficient given as part of Thomsen-type notation barely affect the ray velocity and ray attenuation of quasi P-waves in attenuating VTI media; (2) combining the perturbation method and Shanks transform provides an accurate analytic eikonal solution for homogeneous attenuating VTI media; (3) for a horizontal attenuating VTI layer with weak attenuation, the real part of the complex-valued reflection traveltime may still be described by the existing nonhyperbolic approximations developed for nonattenuating VTI media, and the imaginary part of the complex-valued reflection traveltime still has the shape of nonhyperbolic curves. In addition, we have evaluated the possible extension of the

  4. ADVANCING THE SCIENCE OF NATURAL AND ENHANCED ATTENUATION FOR CHLORINATED SOLVENTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Looney, B; TOM O. EARLY, T; TYLER GILMORE, T; FRANCIS H. CHAPELLE, F; NORMAN H. CUTSHALL, N; JEFF ROSS, J; MARK ANKENY, M; Michael Heitkamp, M; DAVID MAJOR, D; CHARLES J. NEWELL, C; W. JODY WAUGH, W; GARY WEIN, G; Karen Vangelas, K; Karen-M Adams, K; CLAIRE H. SINK, C

    2006-12-27

    This report summarizes the results of a three-year program that addressed key scientific and technical aspects related to natural and enhanced attenuation of chlorinated organics. The results from this coordinated three-year program support a variety of technical and regulatory advancements. Scientists, regulators, engineers, end-users and stakeholders participated in the program, which was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC). The overarching objective of the effort was to examine environmental remedies that are based on natural processes--remedies such as Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) or Enhanced Attenuation (EA). A key result of the recent effort was the general affirmation of the approaches and guidance in the original U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chlorinated solvent MNA protocols and directives from 1998 and 1999, respectively. The research program did identify several specific opportunities for advances based on: (1) mass balance as the central framework for attenuation based remedies, (2) scientific advancements and achievements during the past ten years, (3) regulatory and policy development and real-world experience using MNA, and (4) exploration of various ideas for integrating attenuation remedies into a systematic set of ''combined remedies'' for contaminated sites. These opportunities are summarized herein and are addressed in more detail in referenced project documents and journal articles, as well as in the technical and regulatory documents being developed within the ITRC. Natural attenuation processes occur in all soil and groundwater systems and act, to varying degrees, on all contaminants. Thus, a decision to rely on natural attenuation processes as part of a site-remediation strategy does not depend on the occurrence of natural attenuation, but on its effectiveness in meeting site-specific remediation goals. Meeting these goals

  5. Developement of a Light Attenuator Based on Glassy Reflections ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The light intensity control of a luminous source is a very important operation in many optical applications. Several types of light attenuator exploiting different optical phenomena like diffraction, absorption, and reflection exist and they differ principally in the maximum attenuation rate, the control range, the sensitivity and the ...

  6. Genomic biomarkers and clinical outcomes of physical activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izzotti, Alberto

    2011-07-01

    Clinical and experimental studies in humans provide evidence that moderate physical activity significantly decreases artery oxidative damage to nuclear DNA, DNA-adducts related to age and dyslipedemia, and mitochondrial DNA damage. Maintenance of adequate mitochondrial function is crucial for preventing lipid accumulation and peroxidation occurring in atherosclerosis. Studies performed on human muscle biopsies analyzing gene expression in living humans reveal that physically active subjects improve the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial function and of related microRNAs. The attenuation of oxidative damage to nuclear and mitochondrial DNA by physical activity resulted in beneficial effects due to polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferases genes. Subjects bearing null GSTM1/T1 polymorphisms have poor life expectancy in the case of being sedentary, which was increased 2.6-fold in case they performed physical activity. These findings indicate that the preventive effect of physical activity undergoes interindividual variation affected by genetic polymorphisms. © 2011 New York Academy of Sciences.

  7. Experiment evaluation of impact attenuator for a racing car under static load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imanullah, Fahmi; Ubaidillah, Prasojo, Arfi Singgih; Wirawan, Adhe Aji

    2018-02-01

    The automotive world is a world where one of the factors that must be considered carefully is the safety aspect. In the formula student car one of the safety factor in the form of impact attenuator. Impact attenuator is used as anchoring when a collision occurs in front of the vehicle. In the rule of formula society of automotive engineer (FSAE) student, impact attenuator is required to absorb the energy must meet or exceed 7350 Joules with a slowdown in speed not exceeding 20 g average and peak of 40 g. The student formula participants are challenged to pass the boundaries so that in designing and making the impact attenuator must pay attention to the strength and use of the minimum material so that it can minimize the expenditure. In this work, an impact attenuator was fabricated and tested using static compression. The primary goal was evaluating the actual capability of the impact attenuator for impact energy absorption. The prototype was made of aluminum alloy in a prismatic shape, and the inside wall was filled with rooftop plastic slices and polyurethane hard foam. The compression test has successfully carried out, and the load versus displacement data could be used in calculating energy absorption capability. The result of the absorbent energy of the selected impact attenuator material. Impact attenuator full polyurethane absorbed energy reach 6380 Joule. For impact attenuator with aluminum polyurethane with a slashed rooftop material as section absorbed energy reach 6600 Joule. Impact attenuator with Aluminum Polyurethane with aluminum orange peel partitions absorbed energy reach 8800 Joule. From standard student formula, energy absorbed in this event must meet or exceed 7350 Joules that meet aluminum polyurethane with aluminum orange peel partitions with the ability to absorb 8800 Joule.

  8. The Study of Rain Specific Attenuation for the Prediction of Satellite Propagation in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandeep, J. S.; Ng, Y. Y.; Abdullah, H.; Abdullah, M.

    2010-06-01

    Specific attenuation is the fundamental quantity in the calculation of rain attenuation for terrestrial path and slant paths representing as rain attenuation per unit distance (dB/km). Specific attenuation is an important element in developing the predicted rain attenuation model. This paper deals with the empirical determination of the power law coefficients which allow calculating the specific attenuation in dB/km from the knowledge of the rain rate in mm/h. The main purpose of the paper is to obtain the coefficients of k and α of power law relationship between specific attenuation. Three years (from 1st January 2006 until 31st December 2008) rain gauge and beacon data taken from USM, Nibong Tebal have been used to do the empirical procedure analysis of rain specific attenuation. The data presented are semi-empirical in nature. A year-to-year variation of the coefficients has been indicated and the empirical measured data was compared with ITU-R provided regression coefficient. The result indicated that the USM empirical measured data was significantly vary from ITU-R predicted value. Hence, ITU-R recommendation for regression coefficients of rain specific attenuation is not suitable for predicting rain attenuation at Malaysia.

  9. Validity of the CT to attenuation coefficient map conversion methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faghihi, R.; Ahangari Shahdehi, R.; Fazilat Moadeli, M.

    2004-01-01

    The most important commercialized methods of attenuation correction in SPECT are based on attenuation coefficient map from a transmission imaging method. The transmission imaging system can be the linear source of radioelement or a X-ray CT system. The image of transmission imaging system is not useful unless to replacement of the attenuation coefficient or CT number with the attenuation coefficient in SPECT energy. In this paper we essay to evaluate the validity and estimate the error of the most used method of this transformation. The final result shows that the methods which use a linear or multi-linear curve accept a error in their estimation. The value of mA is not important but the patient thickness is very important and it can introduce a error more than 10 percent in the final result

  10. Live attenuated S. Typhimurium vaccine with improved safety in immuno-compromised mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Balamurugan Periaswamy

    Full Text Available Live attenuated vaccines are of great value for preventing infectious diseases. They represent a delicate compromise between sufficient colonization-mediated adaptive immunity and minimizing the risk for infection by the vaccine strain itself. Immune defects can predispose to vaccine strain infections. It has remained unclear whether vaccine safety could be improved via mutations attenuating a vaccine in immune-deficient individuals without compromising the vaccine's performance in the normal host. We have addressed this hypothesis using a mouse model for Salmonella diarrhea and a live attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium strain (ssaV. Vaccination with this strain elicited protective immunity in wild type mice, but a fatal systemic infection in immune-deficient cybb(-/-nos2(-/- animals lacking NADPH oxidase and inducible NO synthase. In cybb(-/-nos2(-/- mice, we analyzed the attenuation of 35 ssaV strains carrying one additional mutation each. One strain, Z234 (ssaV SL1344_3093, was >1000-fold attenuated in cybb(-/-nos2(-/- mice and ≈100 fold attenuated in tnfr1(-/- animals. However, in wt mice, Z234 was as efficient as ssaV with respect to host colonization and the elicitation of a protective, O-antigen specific mucosal secretory IgA (sIgA response. These data suggest that it is possible to engineer live attenuated vaccines which are specifically attenuated in immuno-compromised hosts. This might help to improve vaccine safety.

  11. Symphony orchestra musicians′ use of hearing protection and attenuation of custom-made hearing protectors as measured with two different real-ear attenuation at threshold methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K H Huttunen

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite a high level of sound exposure and a fairly large selection of earplugs available, musicians have often been reported to use personal hearing protectors only seldom. For better hearing conservation, it is important to identify and eliminate the causes for the low motivation to use hearing protection. We explored the usage rate of custom-molded musician′s earplugs (ER-15 among 15 symphony orchestra musicians with a questionnaire, and measured the attenuation properties of their earplugs with a Real-Ear Attenuation at Threshold (REAT procedure in a sound field. Earplug use was found to be low, and the musicians reported that earplugs hampered listening to their own and their colleagues′ playing; earplugs affected either timbre or dynamics, or both. Additionally, several reasons related to discomfort of use were itemized, but the musicians who consistently used their earplugs did so in spite of problems with use. The REAT values obtained in sound field were relatively close to the manufacturer′s nominal specifications, being 13.7 dB, on average. In the frequency range studied (0.125-8 kHz, individual variation in REAT was, however, up to 15 dB across the measured frequencies. Fluctuation in attenuation might be related to low use of hearing protectors, and REAT measured at fixed center frequencies may be too robust a method to uncover it. We therefore tested 10 additional subjects to find out whether a sweeping signal used in Bιkιsy audiometry would bring more detailed information on earplug attenuation. Mean attenuation was found to be somewhat closer to the nominal attenuation of the ER-9 and ER-15 earplugs up to about 1 kHz, whereas REAT measurements in sound field revealed more even attenuation at frequencies between 1 and 6 kHz. No significant association was found between earplug attenuation properties and earplug use. It was concluded that support and determination to get accustomed to hearing protector use are important

  12. Bacteria attenuation by iron electrocoagulation governed by interactions between bacterial phosphate groups and Fe(III) precipitates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delaire, Caroline; van Genuchten, Case M; Amrose, Susan E; Gadgil, Ashok J

    2016-10-15

    Iron electrocoagulation (Fe-EC) is a low-cost process in which Fe(II) generated from an Fe(0) anode reacts with dissolved O2 to form (1) Fe(III) precipitates with an affinity for bacterial cell walls and (2) bactericidal reactive oxidants. Previous work suggests that Fe-EC is a promising treatment option for groundwater containing arsenic and bacterial contamination. However, the mechanisms of bacteria attenuation and the impact of major groundwater ions are not well understood. In this work, using the model indicator Escherichia coli (E. coli), we show that physical removal via enmeshment in EC precipitate flocs is the primary process of bacteria attenuation in the presence of HCO3(-), which significantly inhibits inactivation, possibly due to a reduction in the lifetime of reactive oxidants. We demonstrate that the adhesion of EC precipitates to cell walls, which results in bacteria encapsulation in flocs, is driven primarily by interactions between EC precipitates and phosphate functional groups on bacteria surfaces. In single solute electrolytes, both P (0.4 mM) and Ca/Mg (1-13 mM) inhibited the adhesion of EC precipitates to bacterial cell walls, whereas Si (0.4 mM) and ionic strength (2-200 mM) did not impact E. coli attenuation. Interestingly, P (0.4 mM) did not affect E. coli attenuation in electrolytes containing Ca/Mg, consistent with bivalent cation bridging between bacterial phosphate groups and inorganic P sorbed to EC precipitates. Finally, we found that EC precipitate adhesion is largely independent of cell wall composition, consistent with comparable densities of phosphate functional groups on Gram-positive and Gram-negative cells. Our results are critical to predict the performance of Fe-EC to eliminate bacterial contaminants from waters with diverse chemical compositions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Whole-body PET/MRI: The effect of bone attenuation during MR-based attenuation correction in oncology imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aznar, M.C., E-mail: marianne.aznar@regionh.dk [Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy 3994, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen (Denmark); Sersar, R., E-mail: rachidadk@hotmail.com [DTU Informatics, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby (Denmark); Saabye, J., E-mail: julie_saa@hotmail.com [DTU Informatics, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby (Denmark); Ladefoged, C.N., E-mail: claesnl@gmail.com [Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen (Denmark); Andersen, F.L., E-mail: Flemming.Andersen@regionh.dk [Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen (Denmark); Rasmussen, J.H., E-mail: jacobrasmu@gmail.com [Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy 3994, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen (Denmark); Löfgren, J., E-mail: Johan.Loefgren@regionh.dk [Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen (Denmark); Beyer, T., E-mail: thomas.beyer@meduniwien.ac.at [Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria)

    2014-07-15

    Purpose: In combined PET/MRI standard PET attenuation correction (AC) is based on tissue segmentation following dedicated MR sequencing and, typically, bone tissue is not represented. We evaluate PET quantification in whole-body (WB)-PET/MRI following MR-AC without considering bone attenuation and then investigate different strategies to account for bone tissue in clinical PET/MR imaging. To this purpose, bone tissue representation was extracted from separate CT images, and different bone representations were simulated from hypothetically derived MR-based bone classifications. Methods: Twenty oncology patients referred for a PET/CT were injected with either [18F]-FDG or [18F]-NaF and imaged on PET/CT (Biograph TruePoint/mCT, Siemens) and PET/MRI (mMR, Siemens) following a standard single-injection, dual-imaging clinical WB-protocol. Routine MR-AC was based on in-/opposed-phase MR imaging (orgMR-AC). PET(/MRI) images were reconstructed (AW-OSEM, 3 iterations, 21 subsets, 4 mm Gaussian) following routine MR-AC and MR-AC based on four modified attenuation maps. These modified attenuation maps were created for each patient by non-linear co-registration of the CT images to the orgMR-AC images, and adding CT bone mask values representing cortical bone: 1200 HU (cortCT), spongiosa bone: 350 HU (spongCT), average CT value (meanCT) and original CT values (orgCT). Relative difference images of the PET following AC using the modified attenuation maps were compared. SUVmean was calculated in anatomical reference regions and for PET-positive lesions. Results: The relative differences in SUVmean across patients following orgMR-AC and orgCT in soft tissue lesions and in bone lesions were similar (range: 0.0% to −22.5%), with an average underestimation of SUVmean of 7.2% and 10.0%, respectively when using orgMR-AC. In bone lesions, spongCT values were closest to orgCT (median bias of 1.3%, range: –9.0% to 13.5%) while the overestimation of SUVmean with respect to orgCT was

  14. Pentoxifylline Attenuates Cardiac Remodeling Induced by Tobacco Smoke Exposure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Minicucci, Marcos; Oliveira, Fernando; Santos, Priscila; Polegato, Bertha; Roscani, Meliza; Fernandes, Ana Angelica; Lustosa, Beatriz; Paiva, Sergio; Zornoff, Leonardo; Azevedo, Paula, E-mail: paulasa@fmb.unesp.br [Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Universidade Estadual Paulista, São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2016-05-15

    Tobacco smoke exposure is an important risk factor for cardiac remodeling. Under this condition, inflammation, oxidative stress, energy metabolism abnormalities, apoptosis, and hypertrophy are present. Pentoxifylline has anti‑inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, anti-thrombotic and anti-proliferative properties. The present study tested the hypothesis that pentoxifylline would attenuate cardiac remodeling induced by smoking. Wistar rats were distributed in four groups: Control (C), Pentoxifylline (PX), Tobacco Smoke (TS), and PX-TS. After two months, echocardiography, invasive blood pressure measurement, biochemical, and histological studies were performed. The groups were compared by two-way ANOVA with a significance level of 5%. TS increased left atrium diameter and area, which was attenuated by PX. In the isolated heart study, TS lowered the positive derivate (+dp/dt), and this was attenuated by PX. The antioxidants enzyme superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were decreased in the TS group; PX recovered these activities. TS increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and decreased 3-hydroxyacyl Coenzyme A dehydrogenases (OH-DHA) and citrate synthase (CS). PX attenuated LDH, 3-OH-DHA and CS alterations in TS-PX group. TS increased IL-10, ICAM-1, and caspase-3. PX did not influence these variables. TS induced cardiac remodeling, associated with increased inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and changed energy metabolism. PX attenuated cardiac remodeling by reducing oxidative stress and improving cardiac bioenergetics, but did not act upon cardiac cytokines and apoptosis.

  15. Broad beam X-rays attenuation in silicum glass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Risticj, Dj.; Vukovicj, S.; Markovicj, P.

    1987-01-01

    Using broad beam geometry the attenuation for domestic silicum glass have been studied for constant X-ray potentials from 50 to 150 kV. The density of the silicium glass was 2,5x10 3 kg/m 3 . From the attenuation curves the half value layers were obtained. The use of this glass as the biological shield is pointed out. (author). 2 refs.; 2 tabs.; 2 figs

  16. Statistical problems with weather-radar images, II: Attenuation detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez-Duran, Juan-Jose; Upton, Graham

    2003-01-01

    A procedure based on the combination of a Bayesian changepoint model and ordinary least squares is used to identify and quantify regions where a radar signal has been attenuated (i.e.diminished) as a consequence of intervening weather. A graphical polar display is introduced that illustrates the location and importance of the attenuation

  17. Two media method for linear attenuation coefficient determination of irregular soil samples; Metodo dos dois meios para a determinacao do coeficiente de atenuacao linear de amostras irregulares de solos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vici, Carlos Henrique Georges

    2004-07-01

    In several situations of nuclear applications, the knowledge of gamma-ray linear attenuation coefficient for irregular samples is necessary, such as in soil physics and geology. This work presents the validation of a methodology for the determination of the linear attenuation coefficient ({mu}) of irregular shape samples, in such a way that it is not necessary to know the thickness of the considered sample. With this methodology irregular soil samples (undeformed field samples) from Londrina region, north of Parana were studied. It was employed the two media method for the {mu} determination. It consists of the {mu} determination through the measurement of a gamma-ray beam attenuation by the sample sequentially immersed in two different media, with known and appropriately chosen attenuation coefficients. For comparison, the theoretical value of {mu} was calculated by the product of the mass attenuation coefficient, obtained by the WinXcom code, and the measured value of the density sample. This software employs the chemical composition of the samples and supplies a table of the mass attenuation coefficients versus the photon energy. To verify the validity of the two media method, compared with the simple gamma ray transmission method, regular pome stone samples were used. With these results for the attenuation coefficients and their respective deviations, it was possible to compare the two methods. In this way we concluded that the two media method is a good tool for the determination of the linear attenuation coefficient of irregular materials, particularly in the study of soils samples. (author)

  18. MicroRNA-Based Attenuation of Influenza Virus across Susceptible Hosts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waring, Barbara M; Sjaastad, Louisa E; Fiege, Jessica K; Fay, Elizabeth J; Reyes, Ismarc; Moriarity, Branden; Langlois, Ryan A

    2018-01-15

    Influenza A virus drives significant morbidity and mortality in humans and livestock. Annual circulation of the virus in livestock and waterfowl contributes to severe economic disruption and increases the risk of zoonotic transmission of novel strains into the human population, where there is no preexisting immunity. Seasonal vaccinations in humans help prevent infection and can reduce symptoms when infection does occur. However, current vaccination regimens available for livestock are limited in part due to safety concerns regarding reassortment/recombination with circulating strains. Therefore, inactivated vaccines are used instead of the more immunostimulatory live attenuated vaccines. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been used previously to generate attenuated influenza A viruses for use as a vaccine. Here, we systematically targeted individual influenza gene mRNAs using the same miRNA to determine the segment(s) that yields maximal attenuation potential. This analysis demonstrated that targeting of NP mRNA most efficiently ablates replication. We further increased the plasticity of miRNA-mediated attenuation of influenza A virus by exploiting a miRNA, miR-21, that is ubiquitously expressed across influenza-susceptible hosts. In order to construct this targeted virus, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to eliminate the universally expressed miR-21 from MDCK cells. miR-21-targeted viruses were attenuated in human, mouse, canine, and avian cells and drove protective immunity in mice. This strategy has the potential to enhance the safety of live attenuated vaccines in humans and zoonotic reservoirs. IMPORTANCE Influenza A virus circulates annually in both avian and human populations, causing significant morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. High incidence of zoonotic infections greatly increases the potential for transmission to humans, where no preexisting immunity or vaccine exists. There is a critical need for new vaccine strategies to combat emerging influenza outbreaks. Micro

  19. Using Tectonic Tremor to Constrain Seismic-wave Attenuation in Cascadia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Littel, G.; Thomas, A.; Baltay, A.

    2017-12-01

    In addition to fast, seismic slip, many subduction zones also host slow, largely aseismic slip, accompanied by a weak seismic signal known as tectonic tremor. Tremor is a small amplitude, low-frequency seismic signal that originates at the plate interface, down-dip of where large earthquakes typically occur. The Cascadia subduction zone has not seen a large megathrust earthquake since 1700, yet its recurrence interval of 350-500 years motivates heightened interest in understanding the seismic hazard of the region. Of great importance is to understand the degree to which waves are attenuated as they leave the plate interface and travel towards populated regions of interest. Ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) relate ground motion to a number of parameters, including earthquake magnitude, depth, style of faulting, and anelastic attenuation, and are typically determined empirically from earthquake ground motion recordings. In Cascadia, however, earthquakes of the moderate size typically used to constrain GMPEs occur relatively infrequently compared to tectonic tremor events, which, in contrast, occur periodically approximately every 10-19 months. Studies have shown that the abundant tectonic tremor in Cascadia, despite its small amplitudes, can be used to constrain seismic wave attenuation in GMPEs. Here we quantify seismic wave attenuation and determine its spatial variations in Cascadia by performing an inversion using tremor ground motion amplitudes, taken as peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV) from 1 min window waveforms of each individual tremor event. We estimate the anelastic attenuation parameter for varying regional sections along the Cascadia margin. Changes in seismic-wave attenuation along the Cascadia Subduction Zone could result in significantly different ground motions in the event of a very large earthquake, hence quantifying attenuation may help to better estimate the severity of shaking in densely populated

  20. Determination of Dimensionless Attenuation Coefficient in Shaped Resonators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniels, C.; Steinetz, B.; Finkbeiner, J.; Raman, G.; Li, X.

    2003-01-01

    The value of dimensionless attenuation coefficient is an important factor when numerically predicting high-amplitude acoustic waves in shaped resonators. Both the magnitude of the pressure waveform and the quality factor rely heavily on this dimensionless parameter. Previous authors have stated the values used, but have not completely explained their methods. This work fully describes the methodology used to determine this important parameter. Over a range of frequencies encompassing the fundamental resonance, the pressure waves were experimentally measured at each end of the shaped resonators. At the corresponding dimensionless acceleration, the numerical code modeled the acoustic waveforms generated in the resonator using various dimensionless attenuation coefficients. The dimensionless attenuation coefficient that most closely matched the pressure amplitudes and quality factors of the experimental and numerical results was determined to be the value to be used in subsequent studies.

  1. Utilization of ilmenite/epoxy composite for neutrons and gamma rays attenuation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-Sayed Abdo, A. E-mail: attiaabdo11@hotmail.com; El-Sarraf, M.A.; Gaber, F.A

    2003-01-01

    This work deals with the study of ilmenite/epoxy composite as an injecting mortar for cracks developed in biological concrete shields, as well as, neutrons and gamma rays attenuation. Effects of the particle size on the mechanical strengths have been studied for epoxy resin filled with crushed ilmenite with different maximum particle sizes ranging from 32 to 500 {mu}m. Thermal neutrons and gamma rays attenuation in ilmenite/epoxy composites with 75 and 80 wt.% of ilmenite concentration have been investigated. The total mass attenuation coefficients {mu}/{rho} (cm{sup 2} g{sup -1}) of gamma ray for five ilmenite/epoxy composites have been calculated using the XCOM program (version 3.1) at energies from 10 keV to 100 MeV. Also, the total mass attenuation coefficients ({mu}/{rho}) have estimated based on the measured total linear attenuation coefficients ({mu}) and compared with the calculated results where, a reasonable agreement was found.

  2. Viability of natural attenuation in a petroleum-contaminated shallow sandy aquifer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin Yong Lee; Kang Kun Lee

    2003-01-01

    This study focused on evaluating and quantifying the potential of natural attenuation of groundwater at a petroleum-contaminated site in an industrial area of a satellite city of Seoul, Korea. Groundwater at the study site was contaminated with toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (TEX). Eight rounds of groundwater sampling and subsequent chemical analyses were performed over a period of 3 years. The groundwater quality data suggest that TEX concentrations at this site have been decreasing with time and that the TEX plume is at a quasi-steady state. Trend analysis, changes in mass flux and plume area also confirmed that the TEX plume has reached a quasi-steady state. The proportion of the total attenuation attributable to biodegradation has decreased over the monitoring period while contribution of other attenuation processes, such as dilution or dispersion, has increased. Based on the calculated attenuation rates, it would take more than 20 years to clean up the site by natural attenuation alone. (author)

  3. Characteristics of liver tissue for attenuate the gamma radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arcos P, A.; Rodriguez N, S.; Pinedo S, A.; Amador V, P.; Chacon R, A.; Vega C, H.R.

    2005-01-01

    It was determined the lineal attenuation coefficient of hepatic tissue before gamma radiation of a source of 137 Cs. When exposing organic material before X or gamma radiation fields, part of the energy of the photons is absorbed by the material, while another part crosses it without producing any effect. The quantity of energy that is absorbed is a measure of the dose that receives the material. The three main mechanisms by means of which the gamma rays interacting with the matter are: The Photoelectric Effect, the Compton dispersion and the Even production; the sum of these three processes is translated in the attenuation coefficient of the radiation. In this work we have used hepatic tissue of bovine, as substitute of the human hepatic tissue, and we have measured the lineal attenuation coefficient for photons of 0.662 MeV. Through a series of calculations we have determined the lineal attenuation coefficient for photons from 10 -3 to 10 -5 MeV and the measured coefficient was compared with the one calculated. (Author)

  4. Radiation Attenuation and Stability of ClearView Radiation Shielding TM-A Transparent Liquid High Radiation Shield.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakshi, Jayeesh

    2018-04-01

    Radiation exposure is a limiting factor to work in sensitive environments seen in nuclear power and test reactors, medical isotope production facilities, spent fuel handling, etc. The established choice for high radiation shielding is lead (Pb), which is toxic, heavy, and abidance by RoHS. Concrete, leaded (Pb) bricks are used as construction materials in nuclear facilities, vaults, and hot cells for radioisotope production. Existing transparent shielding such as leaded glass provides minimal shielding attenuation in radiotherapy procedures, which in some cases is not sufficient. To make working in radioactive environments more practicable while resolving the lead (Pb) issue, a transparent, lightweight, liquid, and lead-free high radiation shield-ClearView Radiation Shielding-(Radium Incorporated, 463 Dinwiddie Ave, Waynesboro, VA). was developed. This paper presents the motivation for developing ClearView, characterization of certain aspects of its use and performance, and its specific attenuation testing. Gamma attenuation testing was done using a 1.11 × 10 Bq Co source and ANSI/HPS-N 13.11 standard. Transparency with increasing thickness, time stability of liquid state, measurements of physical properties, and performance in freezing temperatures are reported. This paper also presents a comparison of ClearView with existing radiation shields. Excerpts from LaSalle nuclear power plant are included, giving additional validation. Results demonstrated and strengthened the expected performance of ClearView as a radiation shield. Due to the proprietary nature of the work, some information is withheld.

  5. Interval training attenuates the metabolic disturbances in type 1 diabetes rat model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rocha, Ricelli Endrigo Ruppel; Coelho, Isabela; Pequito, Daniela Cristina T; Yamagushi, Adriana; Borghetti, Gina; Yamazaki, Ricardo Key; Brito, Gleisson Alisson Pereira de; Machado, Juliano; Kryczyk, Marcelo; Nunes, Everson Araújo; Venera, Graciela; Fernandes, Luiz Claudio

    2013-11-01

    This study investigated the effect of interval training on blood biochemistry and immune parameters in type 1 diabetic rats. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: sedentary (SE, n = 15), interval training (IT, n = 17), diabetic sedentary (DSE, n = 17), diabetic interval training (DIT, n = 17). Diabetes was induced by i.v. injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). Swimming Interval Training consisted of 30-s exercise with 30-s rest, for 30 minutes, during 6 weeks, four times a week, with an overload of 15% of body mass. Plasma glucose, lactate, triacylglycerol and total cholesterol concentrations, phagocytic capacity, cationic vesicle content, and superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide production by blood neutrophils and peritoneal macrophages were evaluated. Proliferation of mesenteric lymphocytes was also estimated. Interval training resulted in attenuation of the resting hyperglycemic state and decreased blood lipids in the DIT group. Diabetes increased the functionality of blood neutrophils and peritoneal macrophages in the DSE group. Interval training increased all functionality parameters of peritoneal macrophages in the IT group. Interval training also led to a twofold increase in the proliferation of mesenteric lymphocytes after 6 weeks of exercise in the DIT group. Low-volume high-intensity physical exercise attenuates hyperglycemia and dislipidemia induced by type 1 diabetes, and induces changes in the functionality of innate and acquired immunity.

  6. Chlorine signal attenuation in concrete.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naqvi, A A; Maslehuddin, M; Ur-Rehman, Khateeb; Al-Amoudi, O S B

    2015-11-01

    The intensity of prompt gamma-ray was measured at various depths from chlorine-contaminated silica fume (SF) concrete slab concrete specimens using portable neutron generator-based prompt gamma-ray setup. The intensity of 6.11MeV chloride gamma-rays was measured from the chloride contaminated slab at distance of 15.25, 20.25, 25.25, 30.25 and 35.25cm from neutron target in a SF cement concrete slab specimens. Due to attenuation of thermal neutron flux and emitted gamma-ray intensity in SF cement concrete at various depths, the measured intensity of chlorine gamma-rays decreases non-linearly with increasing depth in concrete. A good agreement was noted between the experimental results and the results of Monte Carlo simulation. This study has provided useful experimental data for evaluating the chloride contamination in the SF concrete utilizing gamma-ray attenuation method. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Attenuation and Emittance Growth of 450 GeV and 7 TeV Proton Beams in Low-Z Absorber Elements

    CERN Document Server

    Kadi, Y; Goddard, B; Schmidt, R

    2004-01-01

    The intensity of the LHC beams will be several orders of magnitude above the damage thresholds for equipment. Passive protection of accelerator equipment against failures during beam transfer, injection and dumping of the beam with diluters and collimators is foreseen. These protection devices must be robust in case of beam impact, and low-Z materials such as carbon are favored. In these diluters, the reduction of the energy density is determined both by the attenuation due to inelastic nuclear collisions and by the emittance growth of the surviving protons due to elastic scattering processes. The physics principles leading to attenuation and emittance growth for a hadron beam traversing matter are summarised, and FLUKA simulation results for 450 GeV and 7 TeV proton beams on low-Z absorbers are compared with these predictions. Design criteria for the LHC absorbers are derived from these results.

  8. Attenuation Modified by DIG and Dust as Seen in M31

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomičić, Neven; Kreckel, Kathryn; Schinnerer, Eva [Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Groves, Brent [School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2611 (Australia); Sandstrom, Karin [Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States); Kapala, Maria [Department of Astronomy, University of Cape Town, Republic of South Africa (South Africa); Blanc, Guillermo A. [Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Leroy, Adam, E-mail: tomicic@mpia-hd.mpg.de [Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)

    2017-08-01

    The spatial distribution of dust in galaxies affects the global attenuation, and hence inferred properties, of galaxies. We trace the spatial distribution of dust in five approximately kiloparsec fields of M31 by comparing optical attenuation with the total dust mass distribution. We measure the attenuation from the Balmer decrement using Integral Field Spectroscopy and the dust mass from Herschel far-IR observations. Our results show that M31's dust attenuation closely follows a foreground screen model, contrary to what was previously found in other nearby galaxies. By smoothing the M31 data, we find that spatial resolution is not the cause for this difference. Based on the emission-line ratios and two simple models, we conclude that previous models of dust/gas geometry need to include a weakly or non-attenuated diffuse ionized gas (DIG) component. Due to the variation of dust and DIG scale heights with galactic radius, we conclude that different locations in galaxies will have different vertical distributions of gas and dust and therefore different measured attenuation. The difference between our result in M31 with that found in other nearby galaxies can be explained by our fields in M31 lying at larger galactic radii than the previous studies that focused on the centers of galaxies.

  9. Quantitative SPECT reconstruction for brain distribution with a non-uniform attenuation using a regularizing method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soussaline, F.; Bidaut, L.; Raynaud, C.; Le Coq, G.

    1983-06-01

    An analytical solution to the SPECT reconstruction problem, where the actual attenuation effect can be included, was developped using a regularizing iterative method (RIM). The potential of this approach in quantitative brain studies when using a tracer for cerebrovascular disorders is now under evaluation. Mathematical simulations for a distributed activity in the brain surrounded by the skull and physical phantom studies were performed, using a rotating camera based SPECT system, allowing the calibration of the system and the evaluation of the adapted method to be used. On the simulation studies, the contrast obtained along a profile, was less than 5%, the standard deviation 8% and the quantitative accuracy 13%, for a uniform emission distribution of mean = 100 per pixel and a double attenuation coefficient of μ = 0.115 cm -1 and 0.5 cm -1 . Clinical data obtained after injection of 123 I (AMPI) were reconstructed using the RIM without and with cerebrovascular diseases or lesion defects. Contour finding techniques were used for the delineation of the brain and the skull, and measured attenuation coefficients were assumed within these two regions. Using volumes of interest, selected on homogeneous regions on an hemisphere and reported symetrically, the statistical uncertainty for 300 K events in the tomogram was found to be 12%, the index of symetry was of 4% for normal distribution. These results suggest that quantitative SPECT reconstruction for brain distribution is feasible, and that combined with an adapted tracer and an adequate model physiopathological parameters could be extracted

  10. Natural attenuation of herbicides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tuxen, Nina; Højberg, Anker Lajer; Broholm, Mette Martina

    2002-01-01

    A field injection experiment in a sandy, aerobic aquifer showed that two phenoxy acids MCPP (mecoprop) and dichlorprop were degraded within I in downgradient of the injection wells after an apparent lag period. The plume development and microbial measurements indicated that microbial growth gover....... The observations may be important for application of natural attenuation as a remedy in field scale systems....

  11. Natural attenuation: A feasible approach to remediation of landfill leachate plumes?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Thomas Højlund; Kjeldsen, Peter; Bjerg, Poul Løgstrup

    2000-01-01

    Natural attenuation has been implemented for petroleum hydrocarbons plumes and recently also for chlorinated solvent plumes, primarily in the USA, but natural attenuation has not yet gained a foothold with respect to leachate plumes. Based on the experiences gained from ten years of research on two...... Danish landfills, it is suggested that natural attenuation is a feasible approach, but much more complicated and demanding than in the case of petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvent....

  12. The ultraviolet attenuation law in backlit spiral galaxies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keel, William C.; Manning, Anna M.; Holwerda, Benne W.; Lintott, Chris J.; Schawinski, Kevin

    2014-01-01

    The effective extinction law (attenuation behavior) in galaxies in the emitted ultraviolet (UV) regime is well known only for actively star-forming objects and combines effects of the grain properties, fine structure in the dust distribution, and relative distributions of stars and dust. We use Galaxy Evolution Explorer, XMM Optical Monitor, and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data to explore the UV attenuation in the outer parts of spiral disks which are backlit by other UV-bright galaxies, starting with the candidate list of pairs provided by Galaxy Zoo participants. New optical images help to constrain the geometry and structure of the target galaxies. Our analysis incorporates galaxy symmetry, using non-overlapping regions of each galaxy to derive error estimates on the attenuation measurements. The entire sample has an attenuation law across the optical and UV that is close to the Calzetti et al. form; the UV slope for the overall sample is substantially shallower than found by Wild et al., which is a reasonable match to the more distant galaxies in our sample but not to the weighted combination including NGC 2207. The nearby, bright spiral NGC 2207 alone gives an accuracy almost equal to the rest of our sample, and its outer arms have a very low level of foreground starlight. Thus, this widespread, fairly 'gray' law can be produced from the distribution of dust alone, without a necessary contribution from differential escape of stars from dense clouds. Our results indicate that the extrapolation needed to compare attenuation between backlit galaxies at moderate redshifts from HST data, and local systems from Sloan Digital Sky Survey and similar data, is mild enough to allow the use of galaxy overlaps to trace the cosmic history of dust in galaxies. For NGC 2207, HST data in the near-UV F336W band show that the covering factor of clouds with small optical attenuation becomes a dominant factor farther into the UV, which opens the possibility that

  13. The ultraviolet attenuation law in backlit spiral galaxies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keel, William C. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Alabama, Box 870324, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 (United States); Manning, Anna M. [Stennis Space Center, MS 39522 (United States); Holwerda, Benne W. [ESA-ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201-AZ Noordwijk (Netherlands); Lintott, Chris J. [Astrophysics, Oxford University, Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Schawinski, Kevin, E-mail: wkeel@ua.edu, E-mail: ammanning@bama.ua.edu, E-mail: bholwerd@rssd.esa.int, E-mail: Twitter@BenneHolwerda, E-mail: cjl@astro.ox.ac.uk, E-mail: Twitter@chrislintott, E-mail: kevin.schawinski@phys.ethz.ch, E-mail: Twitter@kevinschawinski [Institute for Astronomy, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, CH-8093 Zurich (Switzerland)

    2014-02-01

    The effective extinction law (attenuation behavior) in galaxies in the emitted ultraviolet (UV) regime is well known only for actively star-forming objects and combines effects of the grain properties, fine structure in the dust distribution, and relative distributions of stars and dust. We use Galaxy Evolution Explorer, XMM Optical Monitor, and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data to explore the UV attenuation in the outer parts of spiral disks which are backlit by other UV-bright galaxies, starting with the candidate list of pairs provided by Galaxy Zoo participants. New optical images help to constrain the geometry and structure of the target galaxies. Our analysis incorporates galaxy symmetry, using non-overlapping regions of each galaxy to derive error estimates on the attenuation measurements. The entire sample has an attenuation law across the optical and UV that is close to the Calzetti et al. form; the UV slope for the overall sample is substantially shallower than found by Wild et al., which is a reasonable match to the more distant galaxies in our sample but not to the weighted combination including NGC 2207. The nearby, bright spiral NGC 2207 alone gives an accuracy almost equal to the rest of our sample, and its outer arms have a very low level of foreground starlight. Thus, this widespread, fairly 'gray' law can be produced from the distribution of dust alone, without a necessary contribution from differential escape of stars from dense clouds. Our results indicate that the extrapolation needed to compare attenuation between backlit galaxies at moderate redshifts from HST data, and local systems from Sloan Digital Sky Survey and similar data, is mild enough to allow the use of galaxy overlaps to trace the cosmic history of dust in galaxies. For NGC 2207, HST data in the near-UV F336W band show that the covering factor of clouds with small optical attenuation becomes a dominant factor farther into the UV, which opens the possibility that

  14. Determination of tissue equivalent materials of a physical 8-year-old phantom for use in computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akhlaghi, Parisa; Miri Hakimabad, Hashem; Rafat Motavalli, Laleh

    2015-01-01

    This paper reports on the methodology applied to select suitable tissue equivalent materials of an 8-year phantom for use in computed tomography (CT) examinations. To find the appropriate tissue substitutes, first physical properties (physical density, electronic density, effective atomic number, mass attenuation coefficient and CT number) of different materials were studied. Results showed that, the physical properties of water and polyurethane (as soft tissue), B-100 and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (as bone) and polyurethane foam (as lung) agree more with those of original tissues. Then in the next step, the absorbed doses in the location of 25 thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) as well as dose distribution in one slice of phantom were calculated for original and these proposed materials by Monte Carlo simulation at different tube voltages. The comparisons suggested that at tube voltages of 80 and 100 kVp using B-100 as bone, water as soft tissue and polyurethane foam as lung is suitable for dosimetric study in pediatric CT examinations. In addition, it was concluded that by considering just the mass attenuation coefficient of different materials, the appropriate tissue equivalent substitutes in each desired X-ray energy range could be found. - Highlights: • A methodology to select tissue equivalent materials for use in CT was proposed. • Physical properties of different materials were studied. • TLDs dose and dose distribution were calculated for original and proposed materials. • B-100 as bone, and water as soft tissue are best substitute materials at 80 kVp. • Mass attenuation coefficient is determinant for selecting best tissue substitutes

  15. Attenuation correction method for single photon emission CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morozumi, Tatsuru; Nakajima, Masato [Keio Univ., Yokohama (Japan). Faculty of Science and Technology; Ogawa, Koichi; Yuta, Shinichi

    1983-10-01

    A correction method (Modified Correction Matrix method) is proposed to implement iterative correction by exactly measuring attenuation constant distribution in a test body, calculating a correction factor for every picture element, then multiply the image by these factors. Computer simulation for the comparison of the results showed that the proposed method was specifically more effective to an application to the test body, in which the rate of attenuation constant change is large, than the conventional correction matrix method. Since the actual measurement data always contain quantum noise, the noise was taken into account in the simulation. However, the correction effect was large even under the noise. For verifying its clinical effectiveness, the experiment using an acrylic phantom was also carried out. As the result, the recovery of image quality in the parts with small attenuation constant was remarkable as compared with the conventional method.

  16. Consideration of natural attenuation. In remedation contaminated sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2011-04-15

    Upon the proposal submitted by ist Standing committee 5 (Contaminated Sites Committee - ALA) the Federal / State Working Group on Soil protection employed an ad hoc subcommittee dealing with considering natural attenuation in remediating contaminated sites and preparing an inter-State position paper. In the present position paper the way how to consider natural attenuation in practical remediation of contaminated sites is described. The systematic approach outlined allows an understandable decision-finding. A way is shown how the competent soil protection authorities may exercise discretion and in the framework of checking the appropriateness of measures may decide on the implementation of MNA based on a MNA concept (MNA = monitored natural attenuation). It is, however, also explained that when carrying out MNA a decision always made in an individual case is concerned which should be made in a close agreement between the obligated party and the authority.

  17. Attenuation of Self-Generated Tactile Sensations is Predictive, not Postdictive.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available When one finger touches the other, the resulting tactile sensation is perceived as weaker than the same stimulus externally imposed. This attenuation of sensation could result from a predictive process that subtracts the expected sensory consequences of the action, or from a postdictive process that alters the perception of sensations that are judged after the event to be self-generated. In this study we observe attenuation even when the fingers unexpectedly fail to make contact, supporting a predictive process. This predictive attenuation of self-generated sensation may have evolved to enhance the perception of sensations with an external cause.

  18. Attenuation of self-generated tactile sensations is predictive, not postdictive.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul M Bays

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available When one finger touches the other, the resulting tactile sensation is perceived as weaker than the same stimulus externally imposed. This attenuation of sensation could result from a predictive process that subtracts the expected sensory consequences of the action, or from a postdictive process that alters the perception of sensations that are judged after the event to be self-generated. In this study we observe attenuation even when the fingers unexpectedly fail to make contact, supporting a predictive process. This predictive attenuation of self-generated sensation may have evolved to enhance the perception of sensations with an external cause.

  19. Wild type measles virus attenuation independent of type I IFN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Horvat Branka

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Measles virus attenuation has been historically performed by adaptation to cell culture. The current dogma is that attenuated virus strains induce more type I IFN and are more resistant to IFN-induced protection than wild type (wt. Results The adaptation of a measles virus isolate (G954-PBL by 13 passages in Vero cells induced a strong attenuation of this strain in vivo. The adapted virus (G954-V13 differs from its parental strain by only 5 amino acids (4 in P/V/C and 1 in the M gene. While a vaccine strain, Edmonston Zagreb, could replicate equally well in various primate cells, both G954 strains exhibited restriction to the specific cell type used initially for their propagation. Surprisingly, we observed that both G954 strains induced type I IFN, the wt strain inducing even more than the attenuated ones, particularly in human plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells. Type I IFN-induced protection from the infection of both G954 strains depended on the cell type analyzed, being less efficient in the cells used to grow the viral strain. Conclusion Thus, mutations in M and P/V/C proteins can critically affect MV pathogenicity, cellular tropism and lead to virus attenuation without interfering with the α/β IFN system.

  20. Numerical simulation of several impact attenuator design for a formula student car

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinaga, Farlian Rizky; Ubaidillah, Kurniawan, Krishna Eka; Fadhil, Muhamad Ivan; Cahyono, Sukmaji Indro; Idris, Muhamad Hafiz

    2018-02-01

    In the Formula Society of Automotive Engineer (SAE), safety is a vigorous factor. One of the safety components in the Formula SAE car is the impact attenuator. The purpose of this study is to get the impact attenuator design with the best ability to absorb kinetic energy from several existing designs, through numerical approaches, for estimating conditions against dynamic impacts. Material of impact attenuator use combination of aluminum and Zirconium G350. The simulation was caried out by crashing the impact with the rigid wall, to find the deformation that occurs and the energies are absorbed. The impact attenuator design to be simulated should be optimized to meet some parameters in the SAE Formula. The result of impact attenuator simulation should be able to absorb energy of 7350 joules at move 7 m/s and deformation at bulkhead less than 25.4 mm.

  1. High-resolution gamma ray attenuation density measurements on mining exploration drill cores, including cut cores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, P.-S.; Bourke, A.

    2017-01-01

    Physical property measurements are increasingly important in mining exploration. For density determinations on rocks, one method applicable on exploration drill cores relies on gamma ray attenuation. This non-destructive method is ideal because each measurement takes only 10 s, making it suitable for high-resolution logging. However calibration has been problematic. In this paper we present new empirical, site-specific correction equations for whole NQ and BQ cores. The corrections force back the gamma densities to the "true" values established by the immersion method. For the NQ core caliber, the density range extends to high values (massive pyrite, 5 g/cm3) and the correction is thought to be very robust. We also present additional empirical correction factors for cut cores which take into account the missing material. These "cut core correction factors", which are not site-specific, were established by making gamma density measurements on truncated aluminum cylinders of various residual thicknesses. Finally we show two examples of application for the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Canada. The gamma ray attenuation measurement system is part of a multi-sensor core logger which also determines magnetic susceptibility, geochemistry and mineralogy on rock cores, and performs line-scan imaging.

  2. Is visual assessment of thyroid attenuation on unenhanced CT of the chest useful for detecting hypothyroidism?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maldjian, P D; Chen, T

    2016-11-01

    To determine if visual assessment of the attenuation of morphologically normal appearing thyroid glands on unenhanced computed tomography (CT) of the chest is useful for identifying patients with decreased thyroid function. This was a retrospective study of 765 patients who underwent both unenhanced CT of the chest and thyroid function tests performed within 1 year of the CT examination. Attenuation of the thyroid gland was visually assessed in each patient relative to the attenuation of the surrounding muscles to categorise the gland as "low attenuation" (attenuation similar to surrounding muscles) or "high attenuation" (attenuation greater than surrounding muscles). Thyroid attenuation was quantitatively measured in each case to determine the validity of the visual assessment. Results of thyroid function tests were used to classify thyroid function as hypothyroid, euthyroid, or hyperthyroid. Data were analysed to determine the relationship between visual assessment of thyroid attenuation and status of thyroid function. Thyroid glands of low attenuation were present in 4.2% (32/765) of the patients. Nearly half (47%) of the patients with low-attenuation thyroids had hypofunctioning thyroid glands. Compared to patients with high-attenuation thyroids, patients with low-attenuation thyroids were significantly more likely to have decreased thyroid function (clinical and subclinical hypothyroidism) and significantly less likely to be euthyroid (p<0.0001). Quantitative measurement of thyroid attenuation confirmed the validity of the visual assessment. Low attenuation of an otherwise normal-appearing thyroid gland on unenhanced CT of the chest is strongly associated with decreased thyroid function. Copyright © 2016 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The Self Attenuation Correction for Holdup Measurements, a Historical Perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oberer, R. B.; Gunn, C. A.; Chiang, L. G.

    2006-01-01

    Self attenuation has historically caused both conceptual as well as measurement problems. The purpose of this paper is to eliminate some of the historical confusion by reviewing the mathematical basis and by comparing several methods of correcting for self attenuation focusing on transmission as a central concept

  4. Transmission-less attenuation estimation from time-of-flight PET histo-images using consistency equations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yusheng; Defrise, Michel; Metzler, Scott D.; Matej, Samuel

    2015-08-01

    In positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, attenuation correction with accurate attenuation estimation is crucial for quantitative patient studies. Recent research showed that the attenuation sinogram can be determined up to a scaling constant utilizing the time-of-flight information. The TOF-PET data can be naturally and efficiently stored in a histo-image without information loss, and the radioactive tracer distribution can be efficiently reconstructed using the DIRECT approaches. In this paper, we explore transmission-less attenuation estimation from TOF-PET histo-images. We first present the TOF-PET histo-image formation and the consistency equations in the histo-image parameterization, then we derive a least-squares solution for estimating the directional derivatives of the attenuation factors from the measured emission histo-images. Finally, we present a fast solver to estimate the attenuation factors from their directional derivatives using the discrete sine transform and fast Fourier transform while considering the boundary conditions. We find that the attenuation histo-images can be uniquely determined from the TOF-PET histo-images by considering boundary conditions. Since the estimate of the attenuation directional derivatives can be inaccurate for LORs tangent to the patient boundary, external sources, e.g. a ring or annulus source, might be needed to give an accurate estimate of the attenuation gradient for such LORs. The attenuation estimation from TOF-PET emission histo-images is demonstrated using simulated 2D TOF-PET data.

  5. Phase Aberration and Attenuation Effects on Acoustic Radiation Force-Based Shear Wave Generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrascal, Carolina Amador; Aristizabal, Sara; Greenleaf, James F; Urban, Matthew W

    2016-02-01

    Elasticity is measured by shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) methods using acoustic radiation force to create the shear waves. Phase aberration and tissue attenuation can hamper the generation of shear waves for in vivo applications. In this study, the effects of phase aberration and attenuation in ultrasound focusing for creating shear waves were explored. This includes the effects of phase shifts and amplitude attenuation on shear wave characteristics such as shear wave amplitude, shear wave speed, shear wave center frequency, and bandwidth. Two samples of swine belly tissue were used to create phase aberration and attenuation experimentally. To explore the phase aberration and attenuation effects individually, tissue experiments were complemented with ultrasound beam simulations using fast object-oriented C++ ultrasound simulator (FOCUS) and shear wave simulations using finite-element-model (FEM) analysis. The ultrasound frequency used to generate shear waves was varied from 3.0 to 4.5 MHz. Results: The measured acoustic pressure and resulting shear wave amplitude decreased approximately 40%-90% with the introduction of the tissue samples. Acoustic intensity and shear wave displacement were correlated for both tissue samples, and the resulting Pearson's correlation coefficients were 0.99 and 0.97. Analysis of shear wave generation with tissue samples (phase aberration and attenuation case), measured phase screen, (only phase aberration case), and FOCUS/FEM model (only attenuation case) showed that tissue attenuation affected the shear wave generation more than tissue aberration. Decreasing the ultrasound frequency helped maintain a focused beam for creation of shear waves in the presence of both phase aberration and attenuation.

  6. Implementation of a monitoring protocol for the natural attenuation of soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Setier, J.C.; Pornain, J.L.; Millette, D.; Perie, F.; Deschenes, L.; Samson, R.

    2005-01-01

    Large quantities of hydrocarbons are extracted, produced, refined, and transported each year. Despite environmental procedures that are used in industry, the risk of environmental degradation cannot be avoided. Furthermore, aging installations can also present residual contamination. Some of these sites must be decontaminated to residual levels of soil contaminants that are established through discussions with national authorities. These levels are set with respect to the intended use of the site. For several years now, the evaluation of the risk of a contaminant in a particular environment must take into account land use. For certain sites that do not present direct risks for the surrounding environment, natural attenuation offers an interesting alternative to costly remediation strategies. In order to determine whether natural attenuation is a technique suited for soil restoration, TOTAL Exploration Production launched a research project on natural attenuation in 1997. By natural attenuation, we refer to all the processes that act to reduce the concentrations of contaminants in soil (i.e. biotic and abiotic mechanisms). The research project consists of two main components: - The development of decision-making tools designed to evaluate the potential for natural attenuation of hydrocarbons. These software programs, named SITE I and SITE II and developed by the Industrial Chair in Site Remediation and Management of the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal take into account microbial and biotic processes involved the natural attenuation of contaminants in groundwater (SITE I) and soil (SITE II). - The set-up of a pilot-scale demonstration of natural attenuation in soils within the vadose zone at a refinery belonging to the TOTAL group. This pilot project, done in collaboration with the NSERC Industrial Chair in Site Remediation and Management of the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, has the following objectives : 1. Evaluation of the feasibility of natural attenuation as

  7. Novel Intriguing Strategies Attenuating to Sarcopenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kunihiro Sakuma

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass, is characterized by a deterioration of muscle quantity and quality leading to a gradual slowing of movement, a decline in strength and power, increased risk of fall-related injury, and, often, frailty. Since sarcopenia is largely attributed to various molecular mediators affecting fiber size, mitochondrial homeostasis, and apoptosis, the mechanisms responsible for these deleterious changes present numerous therapeutic targets for drug discovery. Resistance training combined with amino acid-containing supplements is often utilized to prevent age-related muscle wasting and weakness. In this review, we summarize more recent therapeutic strategies (myostatin or proteasome inhibition, supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA or ursolic acid, etc. for counteracting sarcopenia. Myostatin inhibitor is the most advanced research with a Phase I/II trial in muscular dystrophy but does not try the possibility for attenuating sarcopenia. EPA and ursolic acid seem to be effective as therapeutic agents, because they attenuate the degenerative symptoms of muscular dystrophy and cachexic muscle. The activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α in skeletal muscle by exercise and/or unknown supplementation would be an intriguing approach to attenuating sarcopenia. In contrast, muscle loss with age may not be influenced positively by treatment with a proteasome inhibitor or antioxidant.

  8. Effects of physical training on endothelial function and limb blood flow in type 2 diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sonne, Mette Paulli; Scheede-Bergdahl, Celena; Olsen, David Benee

    2007-01-01

    of physical training - or the opposite, inactivity - on endothelial function is not fully elucidated. Some studies have shown positive effects of physical training, whereas others have not. In general, physical training can improve endothelial function when this is impaired. However, physical training does...... not seem to have any effect on endothelial function when this is normal.......The term "endothelial dysfunction" refers to the inability or attenuated effect of the endothelial cells in participating in the relaxation of the adjacent smooth muscle, thus causing less vasodilation. Although endothelial dysfunction is often seen in patients with type 2 diabetes, it does...

  9. Seismic attenuation structure beneath Nazca Plate subduction zone in southern Peru

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, H.; Kim, Y.; Clayton, R. W.

    2017-12-01

    We estimate seismic attenuation in terms of quality factors, QP and QS using P and S phases, respectively, beneath Nazca Plate subduction zone between 10°S and 18.5°S latitude in southern Peru. We first relocate 298 earthquakes with magnitude ranges of 4.0-6.5 and depth ranges of 20-280 km. We measure t*, which is an integrated attenuation through the seismic raypath between the regional earthquakes and stations. The measured t* are inverted to construct three-dimensional attenuation structures of southern Peru. Checkerboard test results for both QP and QS structures ensure good resolution in the slab-dip transition zone between flat and normal slab subduction down to a depth of 200 km. Both QP and QS results show higher attenuation continued down to a depth of 50 km beneath volcanic arc and also beneath the Quimsachata volcano, the northernmost young volcano, located far east of the main volcanic front. We also observe high attenuation in mantle wedge especially beneath the normal subduction region in both QP and QS (100-130 in QP and 100-125 in QS) and slightly higher QP and QS beneath the flat-subduction and slab-dip transition regions. We plan to relate measured attenuation in the mantle wedge to material properties such as viscosity to understand the subduction zone dynamics.

  10. Effectiveness of computed tomography attenuation values in characterization of pericardial effusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çetin, Mehmet Serkan; Özcan Çetin, Elif Hande; Özdemir, Mustafa; Topaloğlu, Serkan; Aras, Dursun; Temizhan, Ahmet; Aydoğdu, Sinan

    2017-04-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of computed tomography (CT) attenuation values in the characterization of pericardial effusion. This study consisted of 96 patients with pericardial effusion who underwent pericardiocentesis. For further diagnostic evaluation of pericardial effusion, all the patients were assessed by thorax CT. CT attenuation values were measured from at least 5 different areas of pericardial fluid by specifying the largest region of interest. The average of these measurements was computed and considered as the CT attenuation value of the patient. The patients were classified into two groups: patients with transudative pericardial effusion and those with exudative pericardial effusion. CT attenuation values were significantly higher in patients with exudative pericardial effusion than in those with transudative pericardial effusion [14.85±10.7 Hounsfield unit (HU) vs. 1.13±4.3 HU, peffusion. In addition, a cut-off value of 6.5 HU had 71.4% sensitivity and 72.3% specificity for the prediction of cardiac tamponade. In patients with pericardial effusion, CT attenuation values seem to be correlated with the characterization parameters of the fluid and may distinguish exudative pericardial effusion from transudative pericardial effusion. This parameter was also found to be a predictor of cardiac tamponade. CT attenuation values can be a useful tool in the clinical evaluation of patients with pericardial effusion.

  11. Effective x-ray attenuation measurements with full field digital mammography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heine, John J.; Behera, Madhusmita

    2006-01-01

    This work shows that effective x-ray attenuation coefficients may be estimated by applying Beer's Law to phantom image data acquired with the General Electric Senographe 2000D full field digital mammography system. Theoretical developments are provided indicating that an approximate form of the Beer's relation holds for polychromatic x-ray beams. The theoretical values were compared with experimentally determined measured values, which were estimated at various detector locations. The measured effective attenuation coefficients are in agreement with those estimated with theoretical developments and numerical integration. The work shows that the measured quantities show little spatial variation. The main ideas are demonstrated with polymethylmethacrylate and breast tissue equivalent phantom imaging experiments. The work suggests that the effective attenuation coefficients may be used as known values for radiometric standardization applications that compensate for the image acquisition influences. The work indicates that it is possible to make quantitative attenuation coefficient measurements from a system designed for clinical purposes

  12. Enhanced Attenuation: Chlorinated Organics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-04-01

    attenuation capacity of the aquifer downgradient from the source (e.g., permeable reactive barriers or phytoremediation ) Selection of EA remedies should be...prevalence and/or mobility of nitrate and sulfate compounds and/or metals such as iron, manganese, chromium, copper, and arsenic . Furthermore, in...ranging from very aggressive source destruction and removal methods to less energy-intensive methods, such as phytoremediation . In many cases, it

  13. Occurrence, distribution, and attenuation of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the riverside groundwater of the Beiyun River of Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Lei; He, Jiang-Tao; Su, Si-Hui; Cui, Ya-Feng; Huang, De-Liang; Wang, Guang-Cai

    2017-06-01

    This study investigated the occurrence, seasonal-spatial distribution characteristics, and attenuation process of 15 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in riverside sections of Beiyun River of Beijing. The overall PPCP levels both in surface water and riverside groundwater were moderate on the global scale, and showed higher concentrations in the dry season mainly caused by water temperature variation. Caffeine (CF), carbamazepine (CBZ), metoprolol (MTP), N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), diclofenac (DF), bezafibrate (BF), and gemfibrozil (GF) were seven representative PPCPs, because the rest eight studied compounds occurred in low concentrations and less than 15% of the total concentration of PPCPs. Caffeine and bezafibrate, respectively, was the most abundant compound in surface water and riverside groundwater, with median concentrations of 3020.0 and 125.0 ng L -1 . Total concentrations of PPCPs in surface water were much higher than those in the riverside groundwater spatially. Attenuation of PPCPs during riverbank filtration was largely depending on the sources, site hydrogeological conditions, and physical-chemical properties of PPCPs, also was influenced by dissolved organic matter and environmental physicochemical parameters. CF, MTP, DEET, and CBZ were potential groundwater attenuation contaminants; DF, BF, and GF were groundwater-enriched contaminants based on their removal rates. Predominant removal mechanism of PPCPs like CF was biodegradation. Attenuation simulation showed that the one-way supply between Beiyun River and riverside groundwater, and further confirmed Beiyun River, was the main source of pharmaceutical compounds in the riverside groundwater.

  14. Measurement of attenuation coefficients of the fundamental and second harmonic waves in water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shuzeng; Jeong, Hyunjo; Cho, Sungjong; Li, Xiongbing

    2016-02-01

    Attenuation corrections in nonlinear acoustics play an important role in the study of nonlinear fluids, biomedical imaging, or solid material characterization. The measurement of attenuation coefficients in a nonlinear regime is not easy because they depend on the source pressure and requires accurate diffraction corrections. In this work, the attenuation coefficients of the fundamental and second harmonic waves which come from the absorption of water are measured in nonlinear ultrasonic experiments. Based on the quasilinear theory of the KZK equation, the nonlinear sound field equations are derived and the diffraction correction terms are extracted. The measured sound pressure amplitudes are adjusted first for diffraction corrections in order to reduce the impact on the measurement of attenuation coefficients from diffractions. The attenuation coefficients of the fundamental and second harmonics are calculated precisely from a nonlinear least squares curve-fitting process of the experiment data. The results show that attenuation coefficients in a nonlinear condition depend on both frequency and source pressure, which are much different from a linear regime. In a relatively lower drive pressure, the attenuation coefficients increase linearly with frequency. However, they present the characteristic of nonlinear growth in a high drive pressure. As the diffraction corrections are obtained based on the quasilinear theory, it is important to use an appropriate source pressure for accurate attenuation measurements.

  15. Evaluation of downwelling diffuse attenuation coefficient algorithms in the Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Tiwari, Surya Prakash; Yellepeddi, Sarma B.; Jones, Burton

    2016-01-01

    to comprehend the diffuse attenuation coefficient and its relationship with in situ properties. Two apparent optical properties, spectral remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) and the downwelling diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd), are calculated from vertical

  16. Detecting The EBL Attenuation Of Blazars With GLAST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes, Luis C.

    2006-09-01

    The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope) due for launch in Fall 2007 will study the gamma-ray sky in the energy range 20 MeV to >300 GeV. GLAST-LAT's improved sensitivity with respect to previous missions will increase the number of known Blazars from about 100 to thousands, with redshifts up to z 5. Since Gamma rays with energy above 10 GeV interact via pair-production with photons from the Extragalactic Background Light (EBL), the systematic attenuation of GLAST-detected Blazars as a function of redshift would constitute and effective and unique probe to the optical-UV EBL density and its evolution over cosmic history. Based on the GLAST-LAT instrument performance, detailed simulations of expected blazar populations attenuated by EBL have been performed. In this poster we present an analysis of such simulations in order to measure the EBL attenuation, ensuing a clear distinction between competing EBL models.

  17. Ultrasonic attenuation of CdSe at low temperatures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fernandez, B.J., E-mail: braulio@ula.v [Centro de Estudios de Semiconductores, Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes Apartado de Correos No.1, La Hechicera, Merida 5251 (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Calderon, E.; Bracho, D.B. [Centro de Estudios de Semiconductores, Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes Apartado de Correos No.1, La Hechicera, Merida 5251 (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Perez, J.F. [Laboratorio de Instrumentacion Cientifica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Los Andes Apartado de Correos No.1, La Hechicera, Merida 5251 (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of)

    2010-08-01

    The ultrasonic attenuation of a single crystal of CdSe has been investigated over the temperature range from 1.2 to 300 K at frequencies of 10, 30 and 90 MHz. We report here the temperature dependence of the attenuation in the range 1.2-30 K for piezoactive and non-piezoactive acoustic waves. A temperature-induced relaxation for two piezoactive waves, which scale with frequency towards higher temperatures, was found. A modified Hutson and White model with a new parameter {gamma} is proposed to explain the relaxation maxima of our data and others in the literature. In this model the parameter {gamma}, which seems to be closely related to the compensation, takes into account the impurities-sound wave piezoelectric coupling. By inverting the proposed expression for the sound attenuation to obtain the electrical conductivity from the relaxation, it is found that impurity conductivity of the hopping type is the dominant conduction process at low temperatures.

  18. Ultrasonic attenuation of CdSe at low temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez, B.J.; Calderon, E.; Bracho, D.B.; Perez, J.F.

    2010-01-01

    The ultrasonic attenuation of a single crystal of CdSe has been investigated over the temperature range from 1.2 to 300 K at frequencies of 10, 30 and 90 MHz. We report here the temperature dependence of the attenuation in the range 1.2-30 K for piezoactive and non-piezoactive acoustic waves. A temperature-induced relaxation for two piezoactive waves, which scale with frequency towards higher temperatures, was found. A modified Hutson and White model with a new parameter γ is proposed to explain the relaxation maxima of our data and others in the literature. In this model the parameter γ, which seems to be closely related to the compensation, takes into account the impurities-sound wave piezoelectric coupling. By inverting the proposed expression for the sound attenuation to obtain the electrical conductivity from the relaxation, it is found that impurity conductivity of the hopping type is the dominant conduction process at low temperatures.

  19. Plasmodium yoelii: induction of attenuated mutants by irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waki, S.; Yonome, I.; Suzuki, M.

    1986-01-01

    When erythrocytic forms of Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis, which is invariably fatal in mice, were exposed to X rays, the dose to reduce surviving parasites to one millionth was 100 gray (10 Krad). A suspension of 5 X 10(6) per ml of parasitized erythrocyte was irradiated at 100 gray, and 0.2 ml aliquots were inoculated into 22 mice. Eleven mice showed patent parasitemia, and in these the growth curves were less steep than that found in nonirradiated parasites. The infections of 8 mice of the 11 were self-resolving, and the attenuated feature of the parasites maintained following a limited number of blood passages. The parasites were slowly growing even in nude mice and cause self-resolving infections in intact mice. BALB/c mice immunized with the attenuated parasites were protected against subsequent challenge infections with the original virulent erythrocytic and sporogonic forms. These findings indicate that attenuated mutants of malaria parasites can be readily induced by this method

  20. Intensity attenuation relation at Chamba–Garhwal area in north-west ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Seismic hazard assessment of any region depends on the attenuation relation ... The present study includes 10 moderate and major earthquakes (Ms ≥ 4.9) that had occurred during the ... city and attenuation of strong seismic ground motion. ... Seismologists have benefitted from the development .... In that case, we inferred.

  1. Compact plasmonic variable optical attenuator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leosson, Kristjan; Rosenzveig, Tiberiu; Hermannsson, Pétur Gordon

    2008-01-01

    We demonstrate plasmonic nanowire-based thermo-optic variable optical attenuators operating in the 1525-1625 nm wavelength range. The devices have a footprint as low as 1 mm, extinction ratio exceeding 40 dB, driving voltage below 3 V, and full modulation bandwidth of 1 kHz. The polarization...

  2. Derivation of linear attenuation coefficients from CT numbers for low-energy photons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, Y.

    1999-01-01

    One can estimate photon attenuation properties from the CT number. In a standard method one assumes that the linear attenuation coefficient is proportional to electron density and ignores its nonlinear dependence on atomic number. When the photon energy is lower than about 50 keV, such as for brachytherapy applications, however, photoelectric absorption and Rayleigh scattering become important. Hence the atomic number must be explicitly considered in estimating the linear attenuation coefficient. In this study we propose a method to more accurately estimate the linear attenuation coefficient of low-energy photons from CT numbers. We formulate an equation that relates the CT number to the electron density and the effective atomic number. We use a CT calibration phantom to determine unknown coefficients in the equation. The equation with a given CT number is then solved for the effective atomic number, which in turn is used to calculate the linear attenuation coefficient for low-energy photons. We use the CT phantom to test the new method. The method significantly improves the standard method in estimating the attenuation coefficient at low photon energies (20keV≤E≤40keV) for materials with high atomic numbers. (author)

  3. Oesophagostomum columbianum : immunization of young lambs using gamma ray attenuated inefective larvae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, R.L.; Dhar, D.N.

    1987-01-01

    Infective Oesophagostomum columbianum larvae were successfully attenuated by exposing them to a gamma radiation dose levels of either 40 or 50 Krad. Lambs receiving a single vaccination dose of 2000 infective larvae attenuated at 40 Krad developed partial protection, whereas those vaccinated with similar dose of infection with 50 Krad irradiated larvae failed to develop any protection. A double vaccination schedule comprising of 500 and 2000 gamma attenuated (40 Krad) infective larvae induced a significantly higher level of protection against the challenge dose. The possible use of radiation attenuated larvae as vaccine for immunoprophylaxis against ovine Oesophagostomiasis has been discussed. (author). 11 refs., 2 tables

  4. Study of soil aggregate breakdown dynamics under low dispersive ultrasonic energies with sedimentation and X-ray attenuation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schomakers, Jasmin; Zehetner, Franz; Mentler, Axel; Ottner, Franz; Mayer, Herwig

    2015-10-01

    It has been increasingly recognized that soil organic matter stabilization is strongly controlled by physical binding within soil aggregates. It is therefore essential to measure soil aggregate stability reliably over a wide range of disruptive energies and different aggregate sizes. To this end, we tested highaccuracy ultrasonic dispersion in combination with subsequent sedimentation and X-ray attenuation. Three arable topsoils (notillage) from Central Europe were subjected to ultrasound at four different specific energy levels: 0.5, 6.7, 100 and 500 J cm-3, and the resulting suspensions were analyzed for aggregate size distribution by wet sieving (2 000-63 μm) and sedimentation/X-ray attenuation (63-2 μm). The combination of wet sieving and sedimentation technique allowed for a continuous analysis, at high resolution, of soil aggregate breakdown dynamics after defined energy inputs. Our results show that aggregate size distribution strongly varied with sonication energy input and soil type. The strongest effects were observed in the range of low specific energies (aggregate stability and release of soil organic matter upon aggregate breakdown.

  5. Study of soil aggregate breakdown dynamics under low dispersive ultrasonic energies with sedimentation and X-ray attenuation**

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schomakers, Jasmin; Zehetner, Franz; Mentler, Axel; Ottner, Franz; Mayer, Herwig

    2016-01-01

    It has been increasingly recognized that soil organic matter stabilization is strongly controlled by physical binding within soil aggregates. It is therefore essential to measure soil aggregate stability reliably over a wide range of disruptive energies and different aggregate sizes. To this end, we tested high-accuracy ultrasonic dispersion in combination with subsequent sedimentation and X-ray attenuation. Three arable topsoils (notillage) from Central Europe were subjected to ultrasound at four different specific energy levels: 0.5, 6.7, 100 and 500 J cm−3, and the resulting suspensions were analyzed for aggregate size distribution by wet sieving (2 000-63 μm) and sedimentation/X-ray attenuation (63-2 μm). The combination of wet sieving and sedimentation technique allowed for a continuous analysis, at high resolution, of soil aggregate breakdown dynamics after defined energy inputs. Our results show that aggregate size distribution strongly varied with sonication energy input and soil type. The strongest effects were observed in the range of low specific energies (aggregate stability and release of soil organic matter upon aggregate breakdown. PMID:27099408

  6. Seismic wave attenuation and velocity dispersion in UAE carbonates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogunsami, Abdulwaheed Remi

    Interpreting the seismic property of fluids in hydrocarbon reservoirs at low frequency scale has been a cherished goal of petroleum geophysics research for decades. Lately, there has been tremendous interest in understanding attenuation as a result of fluid flow in porous media. Although interesting, the emerging experimental and theoretical information still remain ambiguous and are practically not utilized for reasons not too obscure. Attenuation is frequency dependent and hard to measure in the laboratory at low frequency. This thesis describes and reports the results of an experimental study of low frequency attenuation and velocity dispersion on a selected carbonate reservoir samples in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For the low frequency measurements, stress-strain method was used to measure the moduli from which the velocity is derived. Attenuation was measured as the phase difference between the applied stress and the strain. For the ultrasonic component, the pulse propagation method was employed. To study the fluid effect especially at reservoir in situ conditions, the measurements were made dry and saturated with liquid butane and brine at differential pressures of up to 5000 psi with pore pressure held constant at 500 psi. Similarly to what has been documented in the literatures for sandstone, attenuation of the bulk compressibility mode dominates the losses in these dry and somewhat partially saturated carbonate samples with butane and brine. Overall, the observed attenuation cannot be simply said to be frequency dependent within this low seismic band. While attenuation seems to be practically constant in the low frequency band for sample 3H, such conclusion cannot be made for sample 7H. For the velocities, significant dispersion is observed and Gassmann generally fails to match the measured velocities. Only the squirt model fairly fits the velocities, but not at all pressures. Although the observed dispersion is larger than Biot's prediction, the fact

  7. Photon attenuation properties of some thorium, uranium and plutonium compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, V. P.; Badiger, N. M. [Karnatak University, Department of Physics, Dharwad-580003, Karnataka (India); Vega C, H. R., E-mail: kudphyvps@rediffmail.com [Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, Unidad Academica de Estudios Nucleares, Cipres No. 10, Fracc. La Penuela, 98068 Zacatecas, Zac. (Mexico)

    2015-10-15

    Mass attenuation coefficients, effective atomic numbers, effective electron densities for nuclear materials; thorium, uranium and plutonium compounds have been studied. The photon attenuation properties for the compounds have been investigated for partial photon interaction processes by photoelectric effect, Compton scattering and pair production. The values of these parameters have been found to change with photon energy and interaction process. The variations of mass attenuation coefficients, effective atomic number and electron density with energy are shown graphically. Moreover, results have shown that these compounds are better shielding and suggesting smaller dimensions. The study would be useful for applications of these materials for gamma ray shielding requirement. (Author)

  8. Fast neutron attenuation measurements for detection of illicit materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Hee Seock; Chung, Chin Wha; Guon, Ki Il; Lee, Bo Young; Ko, Seung Kook; Shin, Yong Mu

    2002-01-01

    Experiments were carried out to develop a novel method using neutron attenuation for the detection of illicit materials. By using pulsed fast neutrons generated from a Bi target bombarded with a 2 GeV electron beam, attenuation spectra of C, N, and O have been measured to study the feasibility of a practical application. The spectral dependence on the material thickness and the geometrical distribution as well as the ability to identify different elements in a layered environment have been studied. For the elements mentioned here, the total cross sections have been obtained from the measured attenuation spectra and compared with ENDF-VI, which showed good agreement. The study confirms that a conventional low energy electron linac can be put into a practical use, and some practical idea is presented

  9. Spectral and kinetic analysis of radiation induced optical attenuation in silica: towards intrinsic fibre optic dosimetry?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borgermans, P.

    2002-01-01

    The document is an abstract of a PhD thesis. The PhD work concerns the detailed investigation of the behaviour of optical fibres in radiation fields such as is the case for various nuclear and space application,s. The core of the work concerns the spectral and kinetic analysis of the radiation induced optical attenuation. Models describing underlying physical phenomena, both for the spectral and the time dimensions, have been developed. The potential of silica optical fibre waveguides for intrinsic dosimetry has been assessed by employing specific properties of radiation induced defects in the silica waveguide material

  10. Predisposing, Reinforcing and Enabling Predictors of Middle School Children's After-School Physical Activity Participation

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Kristi M.; Ogletree, Roberta J.; Fetro, Joyce V.; Brown, Stephen L.; Partridge, Julie A.

    2011-01-01

    Children's participation in after-school physical activity can attenuate the overweight and obesity rates among rural, low socioeconomic status (SES) children. Children's individual determination, as well as social and environmental factors, can influence their behaviors. Purpose: The purposes of this study were to determine if a difference…

  11. Modeling the photochemical attenuation of down-the-drain chemicals during river transport by stochastic methods and field measurements of pharmaceuticals and personal care products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanamoto, Seiya; Nakada, Norihide; Yamashita, Naoyuki; Tanaka, Hiroaki

    2013-01-01

    Existing stochastic models for predicting concentrations of down-the-drain chemicals in aquatic environments do not account for the diurnal variation of direct photolysis by sunlight, despite its being an important factor in natural attenuation. To overcome this limitation, we developed a stochastic model incorporating temporal variations in direct photolysis. To verify the model, we measured 57 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in a 7.6-km stretch of an urban river, and determined their physical and biological properties in laboratory experiments. During transport along the river, 8 PPCPs, including ketoprofen and azithromycin, were attenuated by >20%, mainly owing to direct photolysis and adsorption to sediments. The photolabile PPCPs attenuated significantly in the daytime but persisted in the nighttime. The observations were similar to the values predicted by the photolysis model for the photolabile PPCPs (i.e., ketoprofen, diclofenac and furosemide) but not by the existing model. The stochastic model developed in this study was suggested to be a novel and useful stochastic model for evaluating direct photolysis of down-the-drain chemicals, which occurs during the river transport.

  12. Multiple-energy tissue-cancellation applications of a digital beam attenuator to chest radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobbins, J.T. III.

    1985-01-01

    The digitally-formed primary beam attenuator (DBA) spatially modulates the x-ray fluence incident upon the patient to selectively attenuate regions of interest. The DBA attenuating mask is constructed from CeO 2 powder by a modified printing technique and uses image information from an initial low-dose exposure. Two tissue-cancellation imaging techniques are investigated with the DBA: (1) energy-dependent information is used to form a beam attenuator that attenuates specific tissues in the primary x-ray beam for tissue-cancelled film radiography; (2) the beam attenuator is used to improve image signal-to-noise and scattered radiation properties in traditional energy-subtraction tissue-cancellation imaging with digital detectors. The tissue-cancellation techniques in the primary x-ray beam were capable of adequately removing either soft-tissue or bone from the final compensated film radiograph when using a phantom with well defined soft-tissue and bone sections. However, when tried on an anthropomorphic chest phantom the results were adequate for cancellation of large soft tissue structures, but unsatisfactory for cancellation of bony structures such as the ribs, because of the limited spatial frequency content of the attenuating mask. The second technique (with digital detectors) showed improved uniformity of image signal-to-noise and a two-fold increase in soft-tissue nodule contrast due to improved scattered radiation properties. The tissue-cancelled images contained residual image contributions from the presence of the attenuating mask, but this residual may be correctable by future algorithms

  13. The Ultraviolet Attenuation Law in Backlit Spiral Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keel, William C.; Manning, Anna M.; Holwerda, Benne W.; Lintott, Chris J.; Schawinski, Kevin

    2014-02-01

    The effective extinction law (attenuation behavior) in galaxies in the emitted ultraviolet (UV) regime is well known only for actively star-forming objects and combines effects of the grain properties, fine structure in the dust distribution, and relative distributions of stars and dust. We use Galaxy Evolution Explorer, XMM Optical Monitor, and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data to explore the UV attenuation in the outer parts of spiral disks which are backlit by other UV-bright galaxies, starting with the candidate list of pairs provided by Galaxy Zoo participants. New optical images help to constrain the geometry and structure of the target galaxies. Our analysis incorporates galaxy symmetry, using non-overlapping regions of each galaxy to derive error estimates on the attenuation measurements. The entire sample has an attenuation law across the optical and UV that is close to the Calzetti et al. form; the UV slope for the overall sample is substantially shallower than found by Wild et al., which is a reasonable match to the more distant galaxies in our sample but not to the weighted combination including NGC 2207. The nearby, bright spiral NGC 2207 alone gives an accuracy almost equal to the rest of our sample, and its outer arms have a very low level of foreground starlight. Thus, this widespread, fairly "gray" law can be produced from the distribution of dust alone, without a necessary contribution from differential escape of stars from dense clouds. Our results indicate that the extrapolation needed to compare attenuation between backlit galaxies at moderate redshifts from HST data, and local systems from Sloan Digital Sky Survey and similar data, is mild enough to allow the use of galaxy overlaps to trace the cosmic history of dust in galaxies. For NGC 2207, HST data in the near-UV F336W band show that the covering factor of clouds with small optical attenuation becomes a dominant factor farther into the UV, which opens the possibility that widespread

  14. analysis of rain rate and rain attenuation for earth-space

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Rain rate and rain attenuation predictions are vital when designing microwave satellite and terrestrial communication links, such as in the Ku and Ka bands. This paper presents the cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) of the predicted rain rate and rain attenuation for Uyo, Akwa Ibom State (AKS) (Latitude: 4.88°N, ...

  15. Ketoconazole attenuates radiation-induction of tumor necrosis factor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hallahan, D.E.; Virudachalam, S.; Kufe, D.W.; Weichselbaum, R.R. [Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA (United States)

    1994-07-01

    Previous work has demonstrated that inhibitors of phospholipase A2 attenuate ionizing radiation-induced arachidonic acid production, protein kinase C activation, and prevent subsequent induction of the tumor necrosis factor gene. Because arachidonic acid contributes to radiation-induced tumor necrosis factor expression, the authors analyzed the effects of agents which alter arachidonate metabolism on the regulation of this gene. Phospholipase A2 inhibitors quinicrine, bromphenyl bromide, and pentoxyfylline or the inhibitor of lipoxygenase (ketoconazole) or the inhibitor of cycloxygenase (indomethacine) were added to cell culture 1 h prior to irradiation. Radiation-induced tumor necrosis factor gene expression was attenuated by each of the phospholipase A2 inhibitors (quinicrine, bromphenylbromide, and pentoxyfylline). Furthermore, ketoconazole attenuated X ray induced tumor necrosis factor gene expression. Conversely, indomethacin enhanced tumor necrosis factor expression following irradiation. The finding that radiation-induced tumor necrosis factor gene expression was attenuated by ketoconazole suggests that the lipoxygenase pathway participates in signal transduction preceding tumor necrosis factor induction. Enhancement of tumor necrosis factor expression by indomethacin following irradiation suggests that prostaglandins produced by cyclooxygenase act as negative regulators of tumor necrosis factor expression. Inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor induction ameliorate acute and subacute sequelae of radiotherapy. The authors propose therefore, that ketoconazole may reduce acute radiation sequelae such as mucositis and esophagitis through a reduction in tumor necrosis factor induction or inhibition of phospholipase A2 in addition to its antifungal activity. 25 refs., 2 figs.

  16. Caffeine attenuates scopolamine-induced memory impairment in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riedel, W; Hogervorst, E; Leboux, R; Verhey, F; van Praag, H; Jolles, J

    1995-11-01

    Caffeine consumption can be beneficial for cognitive functioning. Although caffeine is widely recognized as a mild CNS stimulant drug, the most important consequence of its adenosine antagonism is cholinergic stimulation, which might lead to improvement of higher cognitive functions, particularly memory. In this study, the scopolamine model of amnesia was used to test the cholinergic effects of caffeine, administered as three cups of coffee. Subjects were 16 healthy volunteers who received 250 mg caffeine and 2 mg nicotine separately, in a placebo-controlled double-blind cross-over design. Compared to placebo, nicotine attenuated the scopolamine-induced impairment of storage in short-term memory and attenuated the scopolamine-induced slowing of speed of short-term memory scanning. Nicotine also attenuated the scopolamine-induced slowing of reaction time in a response competition task. Caffeine attenuated the scopolamine-induced impairment of free recall from short- and long-term memory, quality and speed of retrieval from long-term memory in a word learning task, and other cognitive and non-cognitive measures, such as perceptual sensitivity in visual search, reading speed, and rate of finger-tapping. On the basis of these results it was concluded that caffeine possesses cholinergic cognition enhancing properties. Caffeine could be used as a control drug in studies using the scopolamine paradigm and possibly also in other experimental studies of cognitive enhancers, as the effects of a newly developed cognition enhancing drug should at least be superior to the effects of three cups of coffee.

  17. Evaluation of attenuating materials: model for the distribution of scattered radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, Paulo R.

    1996-01-01

    A mathematical model for the behaviour of the distribution of photon scattered by attenuating media is presented. Shielding barriers or attenuating materials used in tests of quality control in radiology are proposed. Comparative results for Lucite are reported

  18. On the attenuation of x-rays and gamma-rays in dilute solutions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gerward, Leif

    1996-01-01

    The theory of X-ray and gamma-ray attenuation in solutions is developed. The rule of mixture for the calculation of mass and linear attenuation coefficients is elaborated in the general case as well as in the limit of extreme dilution. The validity of the latter approximation is illustrated...... by the attenuation of 17.443 keV X-rays in aqueous solutions of NaCl. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd...

  19. MR-based attenuation correction for cardiac FDG PET on a hybrid PET/MRI scanner: comparison with standard CT attenuation correction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vontobel, Jan; Liga, Riccardo; Possner, Mathias; Clerc, Olivier F.; Mikulicic, Fran; Veit-Haibach, Patrick; Voert, Edwin E.G.W. ter; Fuchs, Tobias A.; Stehli, Julia; Pazhenkottil, Aju P.; Benz, Dominik C.; Graeni, Christoph; Gaemperli, Oliver; Herzog, Bernhard; Buechel, Ronny R.; Kaufmann, Philipp A. [University Hospital Zurich, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Zurich (Switzerland)

    2015-09-15

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of attenuation correction (AC) for cardiac {sup 18}F-labelled fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) using MR-based attenuation maps. We included 23 patients with no known cardiac history undergoing whole-body FDG PET/CT imaging for oncological indications on a PET/CT scanner using time-of-flight (TOF) and subsequent whole-body PET/MR imaging on an investigational hybrid PET/MRI scanner. Data sets from PET/MRI (with and without TOF) were reconstructed using MR AC and semi-quantitative segmental (20-segment model) myocardial tracer uptake (per cent of maximum) and compared to PET/CT which was reconstructed using CT AC and served as standard of reference. Excellent correlations were found for regional uptake values between PET/CT and PET/MRI with TOF (n = 460 segments in 23 patients; r = 0.913; p < 0.0001) with narrow Bland-Altman limits of agreement (-8.5 to +12.6 %). Correlation coefficients were slightly lower between PET/CT and PET/MRI without TOF (n = 460 segments in 23 patients; r = 0.851; p < 0.0001) with broader Bland-Altman limits of agreement (-12.5 to +15.0 %). PET/MRI with and without TOF showed minimal underestimation of tracer uptake (-2.08 and -1.29 %, respectively), compared to PET/CT. Relative myocardial FDG uptake obtained from MR-based attenuation corrected FDG PET is highly comparable to standard CT-based attenuation corrected FDG PET, suggesting interchangeability of both AC techniques. (orig.)

  20. Relationship between comfort and attenuation measurements for two types of earplugs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David C Byrne

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Noise-induced hearing loss is almost always preventable if properly fitted hearing protectors are worn to reduce exposure. Many individuals choose not to wear hearing protection because it may interfere with effective communication in the workplace or it may be uncomfortable. Hearing protector comfort has not received the same amount of attention as noise reduction capability. The present study was conducted to evaluate the comfort level of two different types of insert earplugs as well as the attenuation levels achieved by the earplugs. Attenuation levels were obtained with a commercially available earplug fit-test system, and the comfort ratings were obtained by questionnaire. The primary research objective was to determine whether hearing protector comfort was related to measured attenuation values. A linear mixed effects model provided evidence for an inverse relationship between comfort and attenuation.

  1. Attenuation maps for SPECT determined using cone beam transmission computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manglos, S.H.; Bassano, D.A.; Duxbury, C.E.; Capone, R.B.

    1990-01-01

    This paper presents a new method for measuring non-uniform attenuation maps, using a cone beam geometry CT scan acquired on a standard rotating gamma camera normally used for SPECT imaging. The resulting map is intended for use in non-uniform attenuation compensation of SPECT images. The method was implemented using a light-weight point source holder attached to the camera. A cone beam collimator may be used on the gamma camera, but the cone beam CT scans may also be acquired without collimator. In either implementation, the advantages include very high efficiency and resolution limited not by the collimator but by the intrinsic camera resolution (about 4 mm). Several phantoms tested the spatial uniformity, noise, linearity as a function of attenuation coefficient, and spatial resolution. Good quality attenuation maps were obtained, at least for the central slices where no truncation was present

  2. Design guidelines for flexural wave attenuation of slender beams with local resonators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Yaozong; Yu, Dianlong; Li, Li; Zhao, Honggang; Wen, Jihong; Wen, Xisen

    2007-01-01

    The complex band structures and attenuation spectra of flexural waves in slender beams with periodically mounted local resonators are investigated with transfer matrix method. It is noteworthy that the frequency range and attenuation coefficient of the locally resonant gap become larger in complex band structures if larger resonators were used. But given the total add-on mass of resonators, the attenuation spectra of finite beams with large but few resonators do not demonstrate such phenomena because the attenuation needs several periods to establish. So with the view of application, a large number of small local resonators widely spread along the beam are preferred given the total add-on mass to the beam

  3. A Generalized Correction for Attenuation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, Anne C.; Bock, R. Darrell

    Use of the usual bivariate correction for attenuation with more than two variables presents two statistical problems. This pairwise method may produce a covariance matrix which is not at least positive semi-definite, and the bivariate procedure does not consider the possible influences of correlated errors among the variables. The method described…

  4. Measurement of linear attenuation coefficient of different materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, M. M.

    2013-07-01

    In this research we study the linear attenuation coefficient from the materials concrete, brick, mixture concrete and iron. In the secondary standard dosimetry laboratory in Atomic Energy from different distance by use Cs-137 sours, chamber farmer 2675 A-600 cc-S/N 0511, and electrometer 2670 A-S/N 114. Found the value of linear attenuation coefficient of concert in the range 0.167 cm -1 , the brick in the range 0.063 -1 and mixture concrete and iron in the range 0.253cm -1 .(Author)

  5. Development of a human live attenuated West Nile infectious DNA vaccine: Identification of a minimal mutation set conferring the attenuation level acceptable for a human vaccine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamshchikov, Vladimir, E-mail: yaximik@gmail.com; Manuvakhova, Marina; Rodriguez, Efrain; Hébert, Charles

    2017-01-15

    ABSTRACT: For the development of a human West Nile (WN) infectious DNA (iDNA) vaccine, we created highly attenuated chimeric virus W1806 with the serological identity of highly virulent WN-NY99. Earlier, we attempted to utilize mutations found in the E protein of the SA14-14-2 vaccine to bring safety of W1806 to the level acceptable for human use (). Here, we analyzed effects of the SA14-14-2 changes on growth properties and neurovirulence of W1806. A set including the E138K, K279M, K439R and G447D changes was identified as the perspective subset for satisfying the target safety profile without compromising immunogenicity of the vaccine candidate. The genetic stability of the attenuated phenotype was found to be unsatisfactory being dependent on a subset of attenuating changes incorporated in W1806. Elucidation of underlying mechanisms influencing selection of pathways for restoration of the envelope protein functionality will facilitate resolution of the emerged genetic stability issue. - Highlights: •Effect of mutations in E on properties of WN1806 is determined. •A subset of attenuating mutations suitable for a human vaccine is defined. •Mechanism of attenuation is proposed and illustrated. •Underlying mechanisms of neurovirulence reversion are suggested.

  6. Simultaneous correction of attenuation and geometric response in emission tomography applied to nuclear waste drums

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thierry, Raphael

    1999-01-01

    Multi-photonic emission tomography is a non destructive technique applied to the control of radioactive waste drums. The emitted gamma rays are detected on the range [50 keV, 2 MeV] by a hyper pure germanium, of high resolution in energy, which enables to set up a detailed list of radionuclides contained within the drum. From different points of measurement located in a transaxial plane of the drum, the activity distribution is computed by a reconstruction algorithm. An algebraic modelling of the physical process has been developed in order to correct the different degrading phenomenon, in particular the attenuation and the detector geometric response. Attenuation through the materials constituting the barrel is the preponderant phenomena. Its ignorance prevents from accurate activity quantification. Its correction has been realised from an attenuation map obtained by a transmission tomograph. The detector geometric response, introducing a blurring within the detection, is compensated by an analytic model. An adequate modelling of those phenomenon is primordial: it highly contributes on a large scale the image quality and the quantification. The image reconstruction, requiring the resolution of sparse linear system, is realised by iterative algorithms. Due to the 'ill-posed' nature of tomographic reconstruction, it is necessary to use regularisation: by introducing an a priori information on the solution, the stabilisation of the methods is carried out. We chose to minimise the Maximum A Posteriori criterion. Its resolution is considered with a half-quadratic regularisation: it permits the preservation of natural discontinuities, and avoids global-over smoothing of the image. It is evaluated on real phantoms and waste drums. Efficient sampling of the data is considered. (author) [fr

  7. Subsurface Contaminant Focus Area: Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA)--Programmatic, Technical, and Regulatory Issues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krupka, Kenneth M.; Martin, Wayne J.

    2001-07-23

    Natural attenuation processes are commonly used for remediation of contaminated sites. A variety of natural processes occur without human intervention at all sites to varying rates and degrees of effectiveness to attenuate (decrease) the mass, toxicity, mobility, volume, or concentration of organic and inorganic contaminants in soil, groundwater, and surface water systems. The objective of this review is to identify potential technical investments to be incorporated in the Subsurface Contaminant Focus Area Strategic Plan for monitored natural attenuation. When implemented, the technical investments will help evaluate and implement monitored natural attenuation as a remediation option at DOE sites. The outcome of this review is a set of conclusions and general recommendations regarding research needs, programmatic guidance, and stakeholder issues pertaining to monitored natural attenuation for the DOE complex.

  8. Self-attenuation of gamma rays during radioactivity concentration analysis of environmental samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, D.; Dharmasiri, J.; Akber, R.

    2001-01-01

    Gamma spectroscopy using HPGe detector systems is a readily used technique for routine analysis of radioactivity in environmental samples. The systems are generally calibrated using standards of known radioactivity and composition. Radioactivity in environmental samples is generally distributed in the bulk of the material. When a sample of finite thickness is analysed through gamma spectroscopy, a proportion of the gamma rays emitted from the sample is either stopped or scattered from the sample material itself. These processes of self-absorption and self-attenuation depend upon the physical and elemental composition of the sample and the energy of the gamma radiation. Since environmental samples vary in composition, instrument calibration using a fixed matrix composition may not be valid for a diversity of samples. We selected and analysed five sample matrices to investigate the influence of self-absorption and self-attenuation in environmental samples. Our selection consisted of bentonite and kaolin representing clay, quartz representing silica, ash representing prepared biota, and analytical grade MnO 2 representing a co-precipitant used for extractive radioactivity from aqueous samples. Our findings show that within 5% of uncertainty the silica based standards can be used to cover the environmental samples of varying clay (silica content). The detection efficiency for ash and MnO 2 could be different particularly in the 30 - 100 keV energy range. The differences in sample behaviour can be explained on the basis of atomic number, mass number and density

  9. Remediation of groundwater contaminated with arsenic through enhanced natural attenuation: Batch and column studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hafeznezami, Saeedreza; Zimmer-Faust, Amity G; Jun, Dukwoo; Rugh, Megyn B; Haro, Heather L; Park, Austin; Suh, Jae; Najm, Tina; Reynolds, Matthew D; Davis, James A; Parhizkar, Tarannom; Jay, Jennifer A

    2017-10-01

    Batch and column laboratory experiments were conducted on natural sediment and groundwater samples from a contaminated site in Maine, USA with the aim of lowering the dissolved arsenate [As(V)] concentrations through chemical enhancement of natural attenuation capacity. In batch factorial experiments, two levels of treatment for three parameters (pH, Ca, and Fe) were studied at different levels of phosphate to evaluate their impact on As(V) solubility. Results illustrated that lowering pH, adding Ca, and adding Fe significantly increased the sorption capacity of sediments. Overall, Fe amendment had the highest individual impact on As(V) levels. To provide further evidence for the positive impact of Ca on As(V) adsorption, isotherm experiments were conducted at three different levels of Ca concentrations. A consistent increase in adsorption capacity (26-37%) of sediments was observed with the addition of Ca. The observed favorable effect of Ca on As(V) adsorption is likely caused by an increase in the surface positive charges due to surface accumulation of Ca 2+ ions. Column experiments were conducted by flowing contaminated groundwater with elevated pH, As(V), and phosphate through both uncontaminated and contaminated sediments. Potential in-situ remediation scenarios were simulated by adding a chemical amendment feed to the columns injecting Fe(II) or Ca as well as simultaneous pH adjustment. Results showed a temporary and limited decrease in As(V) concentrations under the Ca treatment (39-41%) and higher levels of attenuation in Fe(II) treated columns (50-91%) but only after a certain number of pore volumes (18-20). This study illustrates the importance of considering geochemical parameters including pH, redox potential, presence of competing ions, and sediment chemical and physical characteristics when considering enhancing the natural attenuation capacity of sediments to mitigate As contamination in natural systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

  10. Ultrasonic attenuation in niobium II: measurements near Bsub(c2)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forgan, E.M.; Gough, C.E.

    1978-01-01

    The attenuation of 10 to 90 MHz longitudinal sound waves has been measured from 1.2 K upwards in the superconducting mixed state of niobium near Bsub(c2). The attenuation was determined as a function of the directly measured average induction, B, within single crystal specimens which had resistance ratios ranging from 83 to 3380. The specimens tended to the 'clean' limit (electron mean free path, 1 much greater than xi 0 , the superconducting coherence length) in which there is a strong purity dependence of the relative attenuation. For the purest crystals close to Bsub(C2), the results are in reasonable agreement with the purity and field dependence predicted by microscopic theories, and agree over a much wider field range with a phenomenological modification of these theories. Measurements of attenuation and other transport properties in clean type II superconductors by other authors are discussed and it is shown that many of the evident discrepancies can be attributed to neglect of the effects of magnetic irreversibility and crystalline anisotropy. (author)

  11. The frequency attenuation effect in identity and associative priming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nievas, Francisco

    2010-05-01

    Three lexical decision experiments were carried out, where the masked priming paradigm is used to study the role of the frequency attenuation effect (more priming in low-frequency target words than in high-frequency target words) in repetition and associative priming, manipulating Prime Duration (PD) and Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA). A new concept was introduced, Minimum Time Threshold (MTT), this is, the minimum time interval of exposure to the masked word in order to become aware of it. Results support the notion that MTT is a key to the appearance of the frequency attenuation effect when enough word processing time is allowed. Results do not support the unified explanation of masked priming and long-term priming as proposed by Bodner and Masson (2001). Moreover, information feedback from the semantic level was not the reason for the frequency attenuation effect in repetition priming.

  12. Attenuation of gamma radiation in concrete shields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azevedo e Souza, A.C. de.

    1978-12-01

    The attenuation characteristics of γ radiation in concrete layers considering their mechanical resistence and densities were determined. A 137 Cs source was used in a 'good geometry' arrangement to eliminate the effects of the buildup factor. The ordinary and the heavy concrete were irradiated and for the latter it was used as additives iron ore and Fe 2 O 3 pellets in various grain sizes. The detection system consisted of a 2' x 2' NaI (Tl) crystal coupled to a photomultiplier tube and the associated electronic equipment. FORTRAN programs were used for determining the absorption coefficients and the attenuation factors. These programs calculate photopeak areas eliminating all contributions due to Compton effect and background. (Author) [pt

  13. Indoor signal attenuation assessment via fuzzy logic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre de Assis Mota

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available This work focuses on the analysis of signal´s attenuation in indoor environments using a fuzzy logic approach based on the Shadowing Signal Propagation Model (SSPM. The SSPM allows the characterization of the attenuation caused by the environment through the ? parameter present in this model. In addition to this, the Fuzzy Logic provides a form of approximate reasoning that allows the treatment of problems with incomplete, vague and imprecise information. Also, it offers a simple way to obtain a possible solution for a problem using the heuristic knowledge about a particular situation. The results show that the methodology produced satisfactory results, close to the ones yielded by experimental methods.

  14. Properties of sound attenuation around a two-dimensional underwater vehicle with a large cavitation number

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ye Peng-Cheng; Pan Guang

    2015-01-01

    Due to the high speed of underwater vehicles, cavitation is generated inevitably along with the sound attenuation when the sound signal traverses through the cavity region around the underwater vehicle. The linear wave propagation is studied to obtain the influence of bubbly liquid on the acoustic wave propagation in the cavity region. The sound attenuation coefficient and the sound speed formula of the bubbly liquid are presented. Based on the sound attenuation coefficients with various vapor volume fractions, the attenuation of sound intensity is calculated under large cavitation number conditions. The result shows that the sound intensity attenuation is fairly small in a certain condition. Consequently, the intensity attenuation can be neglected in engineering. (paper)

  15. Detailed study of seismic wave attenuation from four oilfields in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouchaala, F.; Ali, M. Y.; Matsushima, J.

    2018-02-01

    In the present study, we provide a detailed study of seismic wave attenuation obtained from four oilfields. The reservoir zones of these oilfields are complicated due to complex fracture networks, the presence of tar mat and high heterogeneity of carbonate rocks of which the subsurface of Abu Dhabi is mainly composed. These complexities decrease signal-to-noise ratio and make attenuation estimation difficult. We obtained high-resolution attenuation profiles from vertical seismic profiling (VSP) and sonic waveform data. The VSP data were recorded in all four oilfields and the sonic data were acquired in the reservoir zones of oilfields I and IV. We found that the VSP scattering attenuation ({Q}{{S}{{c}}{{a}}{{t}}}-1) varies from -0.080 to 0.180 over a depth range of 400-3500 m. We attributed this significant scattering to the high heterogeneity of carbonate rocks. The scattering profiles seem to be sensitive to fractures, lithology heterogeneity and tar mat, but their effect is superimposed. The VSP intrinsic attenuation varies from -0.15 to 0.246 with high variation within each formation. Since intrinsic attenuation is closely related to fluids, we assumed that this variation is due to the non-uniform distribution of fluids caused by the complex porosity network of the subsurface. The sonic monopole attenuation ({Q}{{M}{{f}}}-1) in the reservoir zones ranges between 0.033-0.094 and dipole inline attenuation ({Q}{{I}{{n}}{{l}}}-1) ranges from 0.040-0.138. The sonic attenuation appears to be sensitive to the presence of fluid and type of fractures, where it shows high attenuation for open fractures and low attenuation for resistive fractures. The zones with high clay content display high sonic intrinsic attenuation in the reservoir of oilfield II. We explain this by the frictional movement between the clay and carbonates due to the elasticity contrast of these two materials. Therefore, the solid grain friction may be the dominant attenuation mechanism in those zones.

  16. Mid-European seismic attenuation anomaly

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Málek, Jiří; Brokešová, J.; Vackář, Jiří

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 712, AUG 21 (2017), s. 557-577 ISSN 0040-1951 Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) StrategieAV21/4 Program:StrategieAV Institutional support: RVO:67985891 Keywords : seismic wave attenuation * peak ground motion * H/V ratio Subject RIV: DC - Siesmology, Volcanology, Earth Structure OBOR OECD: Geology Impact factor: 2.693, year: 2016

  17. Measuring soil sydric content by the attenuation of a microwave signal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orden, S.; Goldberg, M.; Landini, A.; Sainato, C.; Bottini, L.; Arrigo, N.

    1995-01-01

    Measuring soil water content by means of microwave signal attenuation. The attenuation of microwave signal was used to measure the moisture of various soils. Samples of three soils with different textures and organic matter contents were used. The attenuation of the transmitted electromagnetic signal was measured for each sample with different values of soil moisture. Linear regression models were used to fit the experimental values obtained, and the 95% prediction interval was estimated for the attenuation. From the comparison between the moisture values obtained with this method and those of the gravimetric method, the advantages of the first one are seen, both in speed and in the possibility to estimate the in situ moisture, even if this method has a greater relative error. This method would be useful to operate an automatic control irrigation system, preventing hydric stress when the values of soil moisture reach near field capacity. (author) [es

  18. Contaminant Attenuation and Transport Characterization of 200-UP-1 Operable Unit Sediment Samples

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Brady D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Szecsody, James E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Qafoku, Nikolla [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); McElroy, Erin M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Baum, Steven R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Snyder, Michelle MV [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawter, Amanda R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Resch, Charles T. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Gartman, Brandy N. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhong, Lirong [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Saunders, Danielle L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Williams, Benjamin D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Horner, Jacob A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Leavy, Ian I. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Christiansen, Beren B. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Clayton, Ray E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Johnson, Kayla C. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2017-09-27

    Contaminants disposed of at the land surface migrate through the vadose zone, forming plumes in groundwater. Processes that occur in the groundwater can attenuate contaminant concentrations during transport through the aquifer. For this reason, quantifying contaminant attenuation and contaminant transport processes in the aquifer, in support of the conceptual site model (CSM) and fate and transport modeling, are important for assessing the need for, and type of, remediation in the groundwater, including monitored natural attenuation (MNA). The framework to characterize attenuation and transport processes provided in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance documents was used to guide the laboratory effort reported herein.

  19. Intercomparison of medium-energy neutron attenuation in iron and concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirayama, H.

    1999-01-01

    Neutron attenuation of medium energy below 1 GeV has not been well understood until now. It is desired to obtain common agreements concerning the behaviours of neutrons inside various materials. This is necessary in order to agree on definitions of the attenuation length, which is very important for shielding calculations involving high energy accelerators. As one attempt, it was proposed by Japanese attendants of SATIF-2 to compare the attenuation of medium-energy neutrons inside iron and concrete shields between various computer codes and data, and was cited as a suitable action for SATIF. The first results from three groups were presented at SATIF-3. It has become clear that neutrons above 20 MeV are important for understanding the attenuation inside materials and that the geometry, planar or spherical, does not affect the results very much. Considering the CPU times required for Monte Carlo calculations and this result, revised problems to be calculated were prepared by the Japanese Working Group and sent to the participants of this action. The geometry is only plane, and calculations are required only for neutrons above 20 MeV. The secondary neutrons from high energy protons, which were calculated by H. Nakashima, are also included in the problem. The results from four groups were sent to the organizer at the end of August. This paper presents a comparison between groups concerning the attenuation length together with the neutron spectrum and the future themes which come from this intercomparison. (author)

  20. A measurement error model for physical activity level as measured by a questionnaire with application to the 1999-2006 NHANES questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tooze, Janet A; Troiano, Richard P; Carroll, Raymond J; Moshfegh, Alanna J; Freedman, Laurence S

    2013-06-01

    Systematic investigations into the structure of measurement error of physical activity questionnaires are lacking. We propose a measurement error model for a physical activity questionnaire that uses physical activity level (the ratio of total energy expenditure to basal energy expenditure) to relate questionnaire-based reports of physical activity level to true physical activity levels. The 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey physical activity questionnaire was administered to 433 participants aged 40-69 years in the Observing Protein and Energy Nutrition (OPEN) Study (Maryland, 1999-2000). Valid estimates of participants' total energy expenditure were also available from doubly labeled water, and basal energy expenditure was estimated from an equation; the ratio of those measures estimated true physical activity level ("truth"). We present a measurement error model that accommodates the mixture of errors that arise from assuming a classical measurement error model for doubly labeled water and a Berkson error model for the equation used to estimate basal energy expenditure. The method was then applied to the OPEN Study. Correlations between the questionnaire-based physical activity level and truth were modest (r = 0.32-0.41); attenuation factors (0.43-0.73) indicate that the use of questionnaire-based physical activity level would lead to attenuated estimates of effect size. Results suggest that sample sizes for estimating relationships between physical activity level and disease should be inflated, and that regression calibration can be used to provide measurement error-adjusted estimates of relationships between physical activity and disease.

  1. Improvements to the Chebyshev expansion of attenuation correction factors for cylindrical samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mildner, D.F.R.; Carpenter, J.M.

    1990-01-01

    The accuracy of the Chebyshev expansion coefficients used for the calculation of attenuation correction factors for cylinderical samples has been improved. An increased order of expansion allows the method to be useful over a greater range of attenuation. It is shown that many of these coefficients are exactly zero, others are rational numbers, and others are rational frations of π -1 . The assumptions of Sears in his asymptotic expression of the attenuation correction factor are also examined. (orig.)

  2. Mapping of the mutations present in the genome of the Rift Valley fever virus attenuated MP12 strain and their putative role in attenuation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vialat, P; Muller, R; Vu, T H; Prehaud, C; Bouloy, M

    1997-11-01

    The MP12 attenuated strain of Rift Valley fever virus was obtained by 12 serial passages of a virulent isolate ZH548 in the presence of 5-fluorouracil (Caplen et al., 1985. Mutagen-directed attenuation of Rift Valley fever virus as a method for vaccine development. J. Gen. Virol., 66, 2271-2277). The comparison of the M segment of the two strains has already been reported by Takehara et al. (Takehara et al., 1989. Identification of mutations in the M RNA of a candidate vaccine strain of Rift Valley fever virus. Virology 169, 452-457). We have completed the comparison and found that altogether a total of nine, 12 and four nucleotides were changed in the L, M and S segments of the two strains, respectively. Three mutations induced amino acid changes in the L protein but none of them was located in the recognized motifs conserved among RNA dependent polymerases. In the S segment, a single change modified an amino acid in the NSs protein and in the M segment, seven of the mutations resulted in amino acid changes in each of the four encoded G1, G2, 14 kDa and 78 kDa proteins. Characterization of the MP12 virus indicated that determinants for attenuation were present in each segment and that they were introduced progressively during the 12 passages in the presence of the mutagen (Saluzzo and Smith, 1990. Use of reassortant viruses to map attenuating and temperature-sensitive mutations of the Rift Valley fever virus MP-12 vaccine. Vaccine 8, 369-375). Passages 4 and 7-9 were found to be essential for introduction of temperature-sensitive lesions and attenuation. In an attempt to correlate some of the mutations with the attenuated or temperature-sensitive phenotypes, we determined by sequencing the passage level at which the different mutations appeared. This work should help to address the question of the role of the viral gene products in Rift Valley fever pathogenesis.

  3. Flexural wave attenuation in a sandwich beam with viscoelastic periodic cores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Zhiwei; Sheng, Meiping; Pan, Jie

    2017-07-01

    The flexural-wave attenuation performance of traditional constraint-layer damping in a sandwich beam is improved by using periodic constrained-layer damping (PCLD), where the monolithic viscoelastic core is replaced with two periodically alternating viscoelastic cores. Closed-form solutions of the wave propagation constants of the infinite periodic sandwich beam and the forced response of the corresponding finite sandwich structure are theoretically derived, providing computational support on the analysis of attenuation characteristics. In a sandwich beam with PCLD, the flexural waves can be attenuated by both Bragg scattering effect and damping effect, where the attenuation level is mainly dominated by Bragg scattering in the band-gaps and by damping in the pass-bands. Affected by these two effects, when the parameters of periodic cores are properly selected, a sandwich beam with PCLD can effectively reduce vibrations of much lower frequencies than that with traditional constrained-layer damping. The effects of the parameters of viscoelastic periodic cores on band-gap properties are also discussed, showing that the average attenuation in the desired frequency band can be maximized by tuning the length ratio and core thickness to proper values. The research in this paper could possibly provide useful information for the researches and engineers to design damping structures.

  4. Evaluation of dose attenuation factor of armored car against radiation accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Tatsuhiko; Fujii, Katsutoshi; Murayama, Takashi

    2002-03-01

    The Tokyo Fire Department developed an armored car against radiation accidents. The car is covered by lead shields for attenuating dose from gamma rays. Dose from neutrons also can be attenuated by pouring water into tanks attached to the surface of the car. However, dose attenuation factors of the radiation shields had been determined by an estimation of single-layer shield, and more precise evaluation of multi-layer shield was required. By request from the Tokyo Fire Department, a precise evaluation of the dose attenuation in multi-layer shield was carried out. The evaluation was made by a Monte Carlo radiation transport simulation code MCNP4B for the shields used in the front, side and back of the car. Three types of the radiation sources ( 252 Cf as a neutron source, 60 Co as a gamma ray source, and radiation source corresponding to the JCO criticality accident) were considered in the calculation. Benchmark experiments using neutron and gamma ray sources were also performed for ensuring the evaluation method. As a result, it was found out that doses of neutron and gamma ray were attenuated to approximately 10% and 25% by the thickest shield, respectively. These values were close to the ones which had already obtained by the estimation of single-layer shield. (author)

  5. Prediction of Near-Field Wave Attenuation Due to a Spherical Blast Source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, Jae-Kwang; Park, Duhee

    2017-11-01

    Empirical and theoretical far-field attenuation relationships, which do not capture the near-field response, are most often used to predict the peak amplitude of blast wave. Jiang et al. (Vibration due to a buried explosive source. PhD Thesis, Curtin University, Western Australian School of Mines, 1993) present rigorous wave equations that simulates the near-field attenuation to a spherical blast source in damped and undamped media. However, the effect of loading frequency and velocity of the media have not yet been investigated. We perform a suite of axisymmetric, dynamic finite difference analyses to simulate the propagation of stress waves induced by spherical blast source and to quantify the near-field attenuation. A broad range of loading frequencies, wave velocities, and damping ratios are used in the simulations. The near-field effect is revealed to be proportional to the rise time of the impulse load and wave velocity. We propose an empirical additive function to the theoretical far-field attenuation curve to predict the near-field range and attenuation. The proposed curve is validated against measurements recorded in a test blast.

  6. Inhomogeneity of neutron and gamma-ray attenuation in biological shields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-bakkoush, F A; El-Ghobary, A M; Megahid, R M [Reactor and Neutron physics Department, Nuclear Research Center, A.E.A., Cairo (Egypt)

    1997-12-31

    Measurements have been carried-out to investigate the attenuation properties of some materials which are used as biological shields around nuclear radiation sources. Investigation was performed by measuring the transmitted fast neutron and gamma-spectra through cylindrical samples of magnetite- limonite, steel and cellulose shields. The neutron and gamma spectra were measured by a neutron-gamma spectrometer with stilbene scintillator. Discrimination between neutron and gamma pulses was achieved by a discrimination method. The obtained results are displayed in the form of neutron and gamma spectra and attenuation relations which are used to derive the total macroscopic cross-sections for neutrons and total linear attenuation coefficients for gamma-rays. The values of neutron and gamma relaxation lengths are also derived for the investigated materials. 10 figs., 1 tabs.

  7. Determination of intrinsic attenuation in the oceanic lithosphere-asthenosphere system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takeuchi, Nozomu; Kawakatsu, Hitoshi; Shiobara, Hajime; Isse, Takehi; Sugioka, Hiroko; Ito, Aki; Utada, Hisashi

    2017-12-01

    We recorded P and S waves traveling through the oceanic lithosphere-asthenosphere system (LAS) using broadband ocean-bottom seismometers in the northwest Pacific, and we quantitatively separated the intrinsic (anelastic) and extrinsic (scattering) attenuation effects on seismic wave propagation to directly infer the thermomechanical properties of the oceanic LAS. The strong intrinsic attenuation in the asthenosphere obtained at higher frequency (~3 hertz) is comparable to that constrained at lower frequency (~100 seconds) by surface waves and suggests frequency-independent anelasticity, whereas the intrinsic attenuation in the lithosphere is frequency dependent. This difference in frequency dependence indicates that the strong and broad peak dissipation recently observed in the laboratory exists only in the asthenosphere and provides new insight into what distinguishes the asthenosphere from the lithosphere.

  8. Anomalous ultrasonic attenuation and velocity change in LaAl2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Federle, G.; Dransfeld, K.; Boemmel, H.E.; Roedhammer, P.

    1980-01-01

    The attenuation and velocity of longitudinal waves has been measured in superconducting and normal LaAl 2 in the frequency range from 15 to 225 MHz. Both in the superconducting and in the normal state an unusually large damping has been found superimposed on the relatively small attenuation due to the well known electron-phonon interaction. On cooling into the superconducting state the attenuation starts to drop only at temperatures well below Tsub(c) and - as in insulating glasses - it rises again below 0.8K. It is suggested that this indicates that two-level systems similar to the ones found in amorphous superconductors may be present in the crystalline LaAl 2 sample and are responsible for the observed acoustic anomalies. (author)

  9. Note: Attenuation motion of acoustically levitated spherical rotor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lü, P.; Hong, Z. Y.; Yin, J. F.; Yan, N.; Zhai, W.; Wang, H. P.

    2016-11-01

    Here we observe the attenuation motion of spherical rotors levitated by near-field acoustic radiation force and analyze the factors that affect the duration time of free rotation. It is found that the rotating speed of freely rotating rotor decreases exponentially with respect to time. The time constant of exponential attenuation motion depends mainly on the levitation height, the mass of rotor, and the depth of concave ultrasound emitter. Large levitation height, large mass of rotor, and small depth of concave emitter are beneficial to increase the time constant and hence extend the duration time of free rotation.

  10. Attenuation compensation for least-squares reverse time migration using the viscoacoustic-wave equation

    KAUST Repository

    Dutta, Gaurav

    2014-10-01

    Strong subsurface attenuation leads to distortion of amplitudes and phases of seismic waves propagating inside the earth. Conventional acoustic reverse time migration (RTM) and least-squares reverse time migration (LSRTM) do not account for this distortion, which can lead to defocusing of migration images in highly attenuative geologic environments. To correct for this distortion, we used a linearized inversion method, denoted as Qp-LSRTM. During the leastsquares iterations, we used a linearized viscoacoustic modeling operator for forward modeling. The adjoint equations were derived using the adjoint-state method for back propagating the residual wavefields. The merit of this approach compared with conventional RTM and LSRTM was that Qp-LSRTM compensated for the amplitude loss due to attenuation and could produce images with better balanced amplitudes and more resolution below highly attenuative layers. Numerical tests on synthetic and field data illustrated the advantages of Qp-LSRTM over RTM and LSRTM when the recorded data had strong attenuation effects. Similar to standard LSRTM, the sensitivity tests for background velocity and Qp errors revealed that the liability of this method is the requirement for smooth and accurate migration velocity and attenuation models.

  11. Attenuation compensation for least-squares reverse time migration using the viscoacoustic-wave equation

    KAUST Repository

    Dutta, Gaurav; Schuster, Gerard T.

    2014-01-01

    Strong subsurface attenuation leads to distortion of amplitudes and phases of seismic waves propagating inside the earth. Conventional acoustic reverse time migration (RTM) and least-squares reverse time migration (LSRTM) do not account for this distortion, which can lead to defocusing of migration images in highly attenuative geologic environments. To correct for this distortion, we used a linearized inversion method, denoted as Qp-LSRTM. During the leastsquares iterations, we used a linearized viscoacoustic modeling operator for forward modeling. The adjoint equations were derived using the adjoint-state method for back propagating the residual wavefields. The merit of this approach compared with conventional RTM and LSRTM was that Qp-LSRTM compensated for the amplitude loss due to attenuation and could produce images with better balanced amplitudes and more resolution below highly attenuative layers. Numerical tests on synthetic and field data illustrated the advantages of Qp-LSRTM over RTM and LSRTM when the recorded data had strong attenuation effects. Similar to standard LSRTM, the sensitivity tests for background velocity and Qp errors revealed that the liability of this method is the requirement for smooth and accurate migration velocity and attenuation models.

  12. Iterative reconstruction with attenuation compensation from cone-beam projections acquired via nonplanar orbits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, G.L.; Weng, Y.; Gullberg, G.T.

    1997-01-01

    Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging with cone-beam collimators provides improved sensitivity and spatial resolution for imaging small objects with large field-of-view detectors. It is known that Tuy's cone-beam data sufficiency condition must be met to obtain artifact-free reconstructions. Even though Tuy's condition was derived for an attenuation-free situation, the authors hypothesize that an artifact-free reconstruction can be obtained even if the cone-beam data are attenuated, provided the imaging orbit satisfies Tuy's condition and the exact attenuation map is known. In the authors' studies, emission data are acquired using nonplanar circle-and-line orbits to acquire cone-beam data for tomographic reconstructions. An extended iterative ML-EM (maximum likelihood-expectation maximization) reconstruction algorithm is derived and used to reconstruct projection data with either a pre-acquired or assumed attenuation map. Quantitative accuracy of the attenuation corrected emission reconstruction is significantly improved

  13. Weighted backprojection implemented with a non-uniform attenuation map for improved SPECT quantitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manglos, S.H.; Jaszczak, R.J.; Floyd, C.E.

    1988-01-01

    A method is developed to improve quantitation in SPECT imaging by using an attenuation compensation method which includes the correct non-uniform attenuation spatial distribution (''map''). The method is based on the technique of weighted back projection, previously developed for uniform attenuation. The method is tested by imaging a non-uniform phantom, reconstructing with the known attenuation map, and quantitatively comparing the resultant image with the known activity distribution. Reconstructed image profiles are dramatically improved in comparison to reconstructions without compensation or with an assumed uniform attenuation map. Contrast measurements further quantify the improvement. Line spread function distortions seen previously in non-uniform geometries are essentially eliminated by the method. Therefore, the method appears to be appropriate for these geometries, if the non-uniform map can be determined. Some additional image distortions introduced by the compensation method are noted and will require further study

  14. Active acoustic leak detection for LMFBR steam generator. Sound attenuation due to bubbles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumagai, Hiromichi; Sakuma, Toshio

    1995-01-01

    In the steam generators (SG) of LMFBR, it is necessary to detect the leakage of water from tubes of heat exchangers as soon as it occurs. The active acoustic detection method has drawn general interest owing to its short response time and reduction of the influence of background noise. In this paper, the application of the active acoustic detection method for SG is proposed, and sound attenuation by bubbles is investigated experimentally. Furthermore, using the SG sector model, sound field characteristics and sound attenuation characteristics due to injection of bubbles are studied. It is clarified that the sound attenuation depends upon bubble size as well as void fraction, that the distance attenuation of sound in the SG model containing heat transfer tubes is 6dB for each two-fold increase of distance, and that emitted sound attenuates immediately upon injection of bubbles. (author)

  15. Millimetre wave attenuation of prototype diagnostic components for the ITER bolometers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meister, H., E-mail: meister@ipp.mpg.de [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching (Germany); Kasparek, W. [Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Grenzflächenverfahrenstechnik & Plasmatechnologie, Stuttgart (Germany); Zhang, D.; Hirsch, M. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Teilinstitut Greifswald, Greifswald (Germany); Koll, J. [Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching (Germany); Zeitler, A. [Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Grenzflächenverfahrenstechnik & Plasmatechnologie, Stuttgart (Germany)

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • Attenuation of ECRH stray radiation in ITER demonstrated for bolometer prototypes. • Collimator with microwave reflecting grid achieves >70 dB at 170 GHz (ITER frequency). • For frequencies >250 GHz (ECE radiation) ceramic coating showed 40 dB attenuation. • Good shielding at joints of components is prerequisite to prevent microwave leakage. • These methods prevent the impact of ECRH stray radiation on bolometer measurements. - Abstract: Bolometers in current and future fusion devices, in particular those in ITER, are vulnerable to stray radiation from electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) which results in measurement errors for plasma radiation detection. To protect the detectors from this stray radiation in the millimetre wavelength range, dedicated diagnostic components have been designed and tested. One option is to place a top plate which contains a microwave-reflecting grid onto the collimators. Another option investigated is the coating of the collimator channels using a microwave absorbing ceramic. Measurements of the mm-wave attenuation of the collimator in front of the bolometer detectors with and without top plate or coated collimator channels have been performed in the frequency range of 125–420 GHz. The attenuation factor of the collimator channels at 170 GHz (the ECRH frequency for ITER) with neither microwave grid nor coating is typically 10 dB. The coating enhances this to 40 dB and including the microwave grid yields at least an attenuation factor of 70 dB, which is sufficient to reduce the residual ECRH induced signal significantly below the one due to plasma radiation. Placing a bolometer camera (collimator connected to detector housing) inside the isotropic microwave field of the test facility MISTRAL, the attenuation factor of the full diagnostic set-up using a top plate was determined to be in the order of 45 dB. This degraded attenuation implies that particular attention has to be paid to design and quality

  16. Interpersonal sensitivity and persistent attenuated psychotic symptoms in adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masillo, Alice; Brandizzi, M; Valmaggia, L R; Saba, R; Lo Cascio, N; Lindau, J F; Telesforo, L; Venturini, P; Montanaro, D; Di Pietro, D; D'Alema, M; Girardi, P; Fiori Nastro, P

    2018-03-01

    Interpersonal sensitivity defines feelings of inner-fragility in the presence of others due to the expectation of criticism or rejection. Interpersonal sensitivity was found to be related to attenuated positive psychotic symptom during the prodromal phase of psychosis. The aims of this study were to examine if high level of interpersonal sensitivity at baseline are associated with the persistence of attenuated positive psychotic symptoms and general psychopathology at 18-month follow-up. A sample of 85 help-seeking individuals (mean age = 16.6, SD = 5.05) referred an Italian early detection project, completed the interpersonal sensitivity measure and the structured interview for prodromal symptoms (SIPS) at baseline and were assessed at 18-month follow-up using the SIPS. Results showed that individuals with high level of interpersonal sensitivity at baseline reported high level of attenuated positive psychotic symptoms (i.e., unusual thought content) and general symptoms (i.e., depression, irritability and low tolerance to daily stress) at follow-up. This study suggests that being "hypersensitive" to interpersonal interactions is a psychological feature associated with attenuated positive psychotic symptoms and general symptoms, such as depression and irritability, at 18-month follow-up. Assessing and treating inner-self fragilities may be an important step of early detection program to avoid the persistence of subtle but very distressing long-terms symptoms.

  17. MR constrained simultaneous reconstruction of activity and attenuation maps in brain TOF-PET/MR imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mehranian, Abolfazl; Zaidi, Habib [Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Geneva University Hospital, CH-1211 Geneva (Switzerland)

    2014-07-29

    The maximum likelihood estimation of attenuation and activity (MLAA) algorithm has been proposed to jointly estimate activity and attenuation from emission data only. Salomon et al employed the MLAA to estimate activity and attenuation from time-of-flight PET data with spatial MR prior information on attenuation. Recently, we proposed a novel algorithm to impose both spatial and statistical constraints on attenuation estimation within the MLAA algorithm using Dixon MR images and a constrained Gaussian mixture model (GMM). In this study, we compare the proposed algorithm with MLAA and MLAA-Salomon in brain TOF-PET/MR imaging.

  18. MR constrained simultaneous reconstruction of activity and attenuation maps in brain TOF-PET/MR imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehranian, Abolfazl; Zaidi, Habib

    2014-01-01

    The maximum likelihood estimation of attenuation and activity (MLAA) algorithm has been proposed to jointly estimate activity and attenuation from emission data only. Salomon et al employed the MLAA to estimate activity and attenuation from time-of-flight PET data with spatial MR prior information on attenuation. Recently, we proposed a novel algorithm to impose both spatial and statistical constraints on attenuation estimation within the MLAA algorithm using Dixon MR images and a constrained Gaussian mixture model (GMM). In this study, we compare the proposed algorithm with MLAA and MLAA_Salomon in brain TOF-PET/MR imaging.

  19. Inferring global upper-mantle shear attenuation structure by waveform tomography using the spectral element method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karaoǧlu, Haydar; Romanowicz, Barbara

    2018-06-01

    We present a global upper-mantle shear wave attenuation model that is built through a hybrid full-waveform inversion algorithm applied to long-period waveforms, using the spectral element method for wavefield computations. Our inversion strategy is based on an iterative approach that involves the inversion for successive updates in the attenuation parameter (δ Q^{-1}_μ) and elastic parameters (isotropic velocity VS, and radial anisotropy parameter ξ) through a Gauss-Newton-type optimization scheme that employs envelope- and waveform-type misfit functionals for the two steps, respectively. We also include source and receiver terms in the inversion steps for attenuation structure. We conducted a total of eight iterations (six for attenuation and two for elastic structure), and one inversion for updates to source parameters. The starting model included the elastic part of the relatively high-resolution 3-D whole mantle seismic velocity model, SEMUCB-WM1, which served to account for elastic focusing effects. The data set is a subset of the three-component surface waveform data set, filtered between 400 and 60 s, that contributed to the construction of the whole-mantle tomographic model SEMUCB-WM1. We applied strict selection criteria to this data set for the attenuation iteration steps, and investigated the effect of attenuation crustal structure on the retrieved mantle attenuation structure. While a constant 1-D Qμ model with a constant value of 165 throughout the upper mantle was used as starting model for attenuation inversion, we were able to recover, in depth extent and strength, the high-attenuation zone present in the depth range 80-200 km. The final 3-D model, SEMUCB-UMQ, shows strong correlation with tectonic features down to 200-250 km depth, with low attenuation beneath the cratons, stable parts of continents and regions of old oceanic crust, and high attenuation along mid-ocean ridges and backarcs. Below 250 km, we observe strong attenuation in the

  20. Three-dimensional Upper Crustal Velocity and Attenuation Structures of the Central Tibetan Plateau from Local Earthquake Tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, B.; Liang, X.; Lin, G.; Tian, X.; Zhu, G.; Mechie, J.; Teng, J.

    2017-12-01

    A series of V-shaped conjugate strike-slip faults are the most spectacular geologic features in the central Tibetan plateau. A previous study suggested that this conjugate strike-slip fault system accommodates the east-west extension and coeval north-south contraction. Another previous study suggested that the continuous convergence between the Indian and Eurasian continents and the eastward asthenospheric flow generated lithospheric paired general-shear (PGS) deformation, which then caused the development of conjugate strike-slip faults in central Tibet. Local seismic tomography can image three dimensional upper-crustal velocity and attenuation structures in central Tibet, which will provide us with more information about the spatial distribution of physical properties and compositional variations around the conjugate strike-slip fault zone. Ultimately, this information could improve our understanding of the development mechanism of the conjugate strike-slip fault system. In this study, we collected 6,809 Pg and 2,929 Sg arrival times from 414 earthquakes recorded by the temporary SANDWICH and permanent CNSN networks from November 2013 to November 2015. We also included 300 P and 17 S arrival times from 12 shots recorded by the INDEPTH III project during the summer of 1998 in the velocity tomography. We inverted for preliminary Vp and Vp/Vs models using the SIMUL2000 tomography algorithm, and then relocated the earthquakes with these preliminary velocity models. After that, we inverted for the final velocity models with these improved source locations and origin times. After the velocity inversion, we performed local attenuation tomography using t* measurements from the same dataset with an already existing approach. There are correlated features in the velocity and attenuation structures. From the surface to 10 km depth, the study area is dominated by high Vp and Qp anomalies. However, from 10 km to 20 km depth, there is a low Vp and Qp zone distributed along the

  1. Envelope exchange for the generation of live-attenuated arenavirus vaccines.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Bergthaler

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Arenaviruses such as Lassa fever virus cause significant mortality in endemic areas and represent potential bioterrorist weapons. The occurrence of arenaviral hemorrhagic fevers is largely confined to Third World countries with a limited medical infrastructure, and therefore live-attenuated vaccines have long been sought as a method of choice for prevention. Yet their rational design and engineering have been thwarted by technical limitations. In addition, viral genes had not been identified that are needed to cause disease but can be deleted or substituted to generate live-attenuated vaccine strains. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, the prototype arenavirus, induces cell-mediated immunity against Lassa fever virus, but its safety for humans is unclear and untested. Using this virus model, we have developed the necessary methodology to efficiently modify arenavirus genomes and have exploited these techniques to identify an arenaviral Achilles' heel suitable for targeting in vaccine design. Reverse genetic exchange of the viral glycoprotein for foreign glycoproteins created attenuated vaccine strains that remained viable although unable to cause disease in infected mice. This phenotype remained stable even after extensive propagation in immunodeficient hosts. Nevertheless, the engineered viruses induced T cell-mediated immunity protecting against overwhelming systemic infection and severe liver disease upon wild-type virus challenge. Protection was established within 3 to 7 d after immunization and lasted for approximately 300 d. The identification of an arenaviral Achilles' heel demonstrates that the reverse genetic engineering of live-attenuated arenavirus vaccines is feasible. Moreover, our findings offer lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus or other arenaviruses expressing foreign glycoproteins as promising live-attenuated arenavirus vaccine candidates.

  2. Envelope Exchange for the Generation of Live-Attenuated Arenavirus Vaccines.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Arenaviruses such as Lassa fever virus cause significant mortality in endemic areas and represent potential bioterrorist weapons. The occurrence of arenaviral hemorrhagic fevers is largely confined to Third World countries with a limited medical infrastructure, and therefore live-attenuated vaccines have long been sought as a method of choice for prevention. Yet their rational design and engineering have been thwarted by technical limitations. In addition, viral genes had not been identified that are needed to cause disease but can be deleted or substituted to generate live-attenuated vaccine strains. Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, the prototype arenavirus, induces cell-mediated immunity against Lassa fever virus, but its safety for humans is unclear and untested. Using this virus model, we have developed the necessary methodology to efficiently modify arenavirus genomes and have exploited these techniques to identify an arenaviral Achilles' heel suitable for targeting in vaccine design. Reverse genetic exchange of the viral glycoprotein for foreign glycoproteins created attenuated vaccine strains that remained viable although unable to cause disease in infected mice. This phenotype remained stable even after extensive propagation in immunodeficient hosts. Nevertheless, the engineered viruses induced T cell-mediated immunity protecting against overwhelming systemic infection and severe liver disease upon wild-type virus challenge. Protection was established within 3 to 7 d after immunization and lasted for approximately 300 d. The identification of an arenaviral Achilles' heel demonstrates that the reverse genetic engineering of live-attenuated arenavirus vaccines is feasible. Moreover, our findings offer lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus or other arenaviruses expressing foreign glycoproteins as promising live-attenuated arenavirus vaccine candidates.

  3. Nuclear equipment to determine soil and water mass attenuation coefficients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zucchi, O.L.A.D.; Nascimento Filho, V.F. do

    1984-01-01

    The feasibility of substituting the monochannel gamma spectrometer, traditionally used in the gamma ray attenuation technique, for a less sophisticated and less expensive system of integral counting is studied. The proposed system can be operated by a non-specialized person. Three detection systems were used in the determination of the mass attenuation coefficients for different types of soil and for water. (M.A.C.) [pt

  4. Qualitative evaluation of Chang method of attenuation correction on heart SPECT by using custom made heart phantom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takavar, A.; Eftekhari, M.; Beiki, D.; Saghari, M.; Mostaghim, N.; Sohrabi, M.

    2003-01-01

    SPECT detects γ- rays from administrated radiopharmaceutical within the patient body. γ-rays pass through different tissues before reaching detectors and are attenuated. Attenuation can cause artifacts; therefore different and used to minimize attenuation effects. In our study efficacy of Chang method was evaluated for attenuation purpose, using a custom made heart phantom. Due to different tissues surrounding heart, evaluation is not uniform more over activity distribution around heart is also non- uniform. In Chang method distribution of radioactivity and attenuation due to the surrounding tissue is considered uniform. Our phantom is a piece of plastic producing similar SPECT image as left ventricle. A dual head, ADAC system was used in our study. Images were taken by 180 d ig C (limited angle) and 360 d ig C (total rotation). Images are compared with and without attenuation correction. Our results indicate that Chang attenuation correction method is not capable of eliminating attenuation artifact completely in particular attenuation effects caused by breast

  5. Transient attenuation in optical fibers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hopkins, A.A.; Kelly, R.E.; Looney, L.D.; Lyons, P.B.

    1984-01-01

    Low and high energy pulsed electron beams were used to generate radiation-induced transient attenuation in high-OH, Suprasil core, PCS fibers, demonstrating the energy dependence of the radiation damage and recovery mechanisms. A radiation resistant low-OH fiber was studied and its performance contrasted to that of high-OH materials. Several fibers with differing core compositions were also studied

  6. Mass attenuation coefficient of chromium and manganese compounds around absorption edge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharanabasappa; Kaginelli, S B; Kerur, B R; Anilkumar, S; Hanumaiah, B

    2009-01-01

    The total mass attenuation coefficient for Potassium dichromate, Potassium chromate and Manganese acetate compounds are measured at different photon energies 5.895, 6.404, 6.490, 7.058, 8.041 and 14.390 keV using Fe-55, Co-57 and 241Am source with Copper target, radioactive sources. The photon intensity is analyzed using a high resolution HPGe detector system coupled to MCA under good geometrical arrangement. The obtained values of mass attenuation coefficient values are compared with theoretical values. This study suggests that measured mass attenuation coefficient values at and near absorption edges differ from the theoretical value by about 5-28%.

  7. Repeated Excessive Exercise Attenuates the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Exercise in Older Men

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sahl, Ronni E.; Andersen, Peter R.; Gronbaek, Katja

    2017-01-01

    Introduction/Purpose: A number of studies have investigated the effect of training with a moderate exercise dose (3–6 h/weekly) on the inflammatory profile in blood, and the data are inconsistent. Cross-sectional studies indicate a positive effect of physical activity level on inflammation levels...... inflammation, but the higher plasma IL-6 concentration concurrent with a trend toward higher insulin resistance and decreased VO2peak implies that the excessive amount of exercise probably attenuated the possible potential anti-inflammatory effects of exercise....... and risk of metabolic disease. However, it is not clear whether this may be dose dependent and if very prolonged repeated exercise therefore may be beneficial for low-grade inflammation. Based on this we studied how excessive repeated prolonged exercise influenced low-grade inflammation and adipose tissue...

  8. Iterative methods for photoacoustic tomography in attenuating acoustic media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haltmeier, Markus; Kowar, Richard; Nguyen, Linh V.

    2017-11-01

    The development of efficient and accurate reconstruction methods is an important aspect of tomographic imaging. In this article, we address this issue for photoacoustic tomography. To this aim, we use models for acoustic wave propagation accounting for frequency dependent attenuation according to a wide class of attenuation laws that may include memory. We formulate the inverse problem of photoacoustic tomography in attenuating medium as an ill-posed operator equation in a Hilbert space framework that is tackled by iterative regularization methods. Our approach comes with a clear convergence analysis. For that purpose we derive explicit expressions for the adjoint problem that can efficiently be implemented. In contrast to time reversal, the employed adjoint wave equation is again damping and, thus has a stable solution. This stability property can be clearly seen in our numerical results. Moreover, the presented numerical results clearly demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the derived iterative reconstruction algorithms in various situations including the limited view case.

  9. Attenuation of hydrogen sulfide at construction and demolition debris landfills using alternative cover materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Qiyong; Townsend, Timothy; Reinhart, Debra

    2010-04-01

    The attenuation of H(2)S emissions by various landfill cover materials was evaluated using both laboratory and field experiments. The results demonstrated that cover materials consisting of selected waste products (compost and yard trash) and soils amended with quicklime and calcium carbonate effectively attenuated H(2)S emissions and detectable H(2)S emissions were only encountered in a testing plot using a sandy soil cover (average emission rate was 4.67x10(-6)mgm(-2)s(-1)). H(2)S concentration profiles in the cover materials indicated that H(2)S was removed as it migrated through the cover materials. At the same depth in the testing area, the H(2)S concentration in the sandy soil field plot was always higher than that of other testing plots because the sand (a) demonstrated less ability to remove H(2)S and (b) exhibited a higher H(2)S concentration at the base of the cover. Laboratory experiments confirmed these observations, with a combination of physical adsorption, chemical reactions, and biological oxidation, accounting for the enhanced removal. In addition to removal, the results suggest that some of the cover materials reduced H(2)S generation by creating less favorable conditions for sulfate-reducing bacteria (e.g., high pH and temperature). Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Development of electrothermal actuation based planar variable optical attenuators (VOAs)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Chengkuo; Yeh, J Andrew

    2006-01-01

    Several sorts of MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) based have been demonstrated by using electrostatic actuation scheme up to date. The comb drive and parallel plate are the two most common electrostatic actuators that have been well studied in variable optical attenuator (VOA) applications. In addition to the known retro-reflection type of optical attenuation being realized by our new devices driven by electrothermal actuators in present study, a novel planar tilted mirror with rotational and translation moving capability is proposed by using electrothermal actuators as well. Using electrothermal actuators to provide said planar tilted mirror with rotational and translational displacement has granted us a more efficient way to perform the light attenuation for in-plane structure. The static and transient characteristics of devices operated at ambient room temperature environment show good repeatability and stability

  11. Broadband Vibration Attenuation Using Hybrid Periodic Rods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Asiri

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents both theoretically and experimentally a new kind of a broadband vibration isolator. It is a table-like system formed by four parallel hybrid periodic rods connected between two plates. The rods consist of an assembly of periodic cells, each cell being composed of a short rod and piezoelectric inserts. By actively controlling the piezoelectric elements, it is shown that the periodic rods can efficiently attenuate the propagation of vibration from the upper plate to the lower one within critical frequency bands and consequently minimize the effects of transmission of undesirable vibration and sound radiation. In such a system, longitudinal waves can propagate from the vibration source in the upper plate to the lower one along the rods only within specific frequency bands called the "Pass Bands" and wave propagation is efficiently attenuated within other frequency bands called the "Stop Bands". The spectral width of these bands can be tuned according to the nature of the external excitation. The theory governing the operation of this class of vibration isolator is presented and their tunable filtering characteristics are demonstrated experimentally as functions of their design parameters. This concept can be employed in many applications to control the wave propagation and the force transmission of longitudinal vibrations both in the spectral and spatial domains in an attempt to stop/attenuate the propagation of undesirable disturbances.

  12. Clinical presentation of Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome in children and adolescents: Is there an age effect?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribolsi, Michele; Lin, Ashleigh; Wardenaar, Klaas J; Pontillo, Maria; Mazzone, Luigi; Vicari, Stefano; Armando, Marco

    2017-06-01

    There is limited research on clinical features related to age of presentation of the Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome in children and adolescents (CAD). Based on findings in CAD with psychosis, we hypothesized that an older age at presentation of Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome would be associated with less severe symptoms and better psychosocial functioning than presentation in childhood or younger adolescence. Ninety-four CAD (age 9-18) meeting Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome criteria participated in the study. The sample was divided and compared according to the age of presentation of Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (9-14 vs 15-18 years). The predictive value of age of Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome presentation was investigated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-curve calculations. The two Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome groups were homogeneous in terms of gender distribution, IQ scores and comorbid diagnoses. Older Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome patients showed better functioning and lower depressive scores. ROC curves revealed that severity of functional impairment was best predicted using an age of presentation cut-off of 14.9 years for social functioning and 15.9 years for role functioning. This study partially confirmed our hypothesis; older age at presentation of Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome was associated with less functional impairment, but age was not associated with psychotic symptoms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Attenuation correction for the collimated gamma ray assay of cylindrical samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patra, Sabyasachi; Agarwal, Chhavi; Goswami, A.; Gathibandhe, M.

    2015-01-01

    The Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) method developed earlier for attenuation correction of non-collimated samples [Agarwal et al., 2008, Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 597, 198], has been extended to the segmented gamma ray assay of cylindrical samples. The method has been validated both experimentally and theoretically. For experimental validation, the results of HMC calculation have been compared with the experimentally obtained attenuation correction factors. The HMC attenuation correction factors have also been compared with the results obtained from literature available near-field and far-field formulae at two sample-to-detector distances (10.3 cm and 20.4 cm). The method has been found to be valid at all sample-to-detector distances over a wide range of transmittance. On the other hand, the literature available near-field and far-field formulae have been found to work over a limited range of sample-to detector distances and transmittances. The HMC method has been further extended to circular collimated geometries where analytical formula for attenuation correction does not exist. - Highlights: • Hybrid Monte Carlo method for attenuation correction developed for SGA system. • Method found to work for all sample-detector geometries for all transmittances. • The near-field formula applicable only after certain sample-detector distance. • The far-field formula applicable only for higher transmittances (>18%). • Hybrid Monte Carlo method further extended to circular collimated geometry

  14. X-ray-based attenuation correction for positron emission tomography/computed tomography scanners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinahan, Paul E; Hasegawa, Bruce H; Beyer, Thomas

    2003-07-01

    A synergy of positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scanners is the use of the CT data for x-ray-based attenuation correction of the PET emission data. Current methods of measuring transmission use positron sources, gamma-ray sources, or x-ray sources. Each of the types of transmission scans involves different trade-offs of noise versus bias, with positron transmission scans having the highest noise but lowest bias, whereas x-ray scans have negligible noise but the potential for increased quantitative errors. The use of x-ray-based attenuation correction, however, has other advantages, including a lack of bias introduced from post-injection transmission scanning, which is an important practical consideration for clinical scanners, as well as reduced scan times. The sensitivity of x-ray-based attenuation correction to artifacts and quantitative errors depends on the method of translating the CT image from the effective x-ray energy of approximately 70 keV to attenuation coefficients at the PET energy of 511 keV. These translation methods are usually based on segmentation and/or scaling techniques. Errors in the PET emission image arise from positional mismatches caused by patient motion or respiration differences between the PET and CT scans; incorrect calculation of attenuation coefficients for CT contrast agents or metallic implants; or keeping the patient's arms in the field of view, which leads to truncation and/or beam-hardening (or x-ray scatter) artifacts. Proper interpretation of PET emission images corrected for attenuation by using the CT image relies on an understanding of the potential artifacts. In cases where an artifact or bias is suspected, careful inspection of all three available images (CT and PET emission with and without attenuation correction) is recommended. Copyright 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Adrenal adenomas: relationship between histologic lipid-rich cells and CT attenuation number

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, Takayuki; Ishibashi, Tadashi; Saito, Haruo; Matsuhashi, Toshio; Majima, Kazuhiro; Tsuda, Masashi; Takahashi, Shoki; Moriya, Takuya

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the relationship between lipid-rich cells of the adrenal adenoma and precontrast computed tomographic (CT) attenuation numbers in three clinical groups. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five surgically resected adrenal adenomas were used. The clinical diagnoses of the patients included 13 cases of primary aldosteronism, 15 cases of Cushing's syndrome, and 7 non-functioning tumors. The number of lipid-rich clear cells was counted using a microscopic eyepiece grid that contained 100 squares. The results were expressed as the percentages of lipid-rich areas. Results: There was a strong inverse linear relationship between the percentage of lipid-rich cells and the precontrast CT attenuation number (R 2 =0.724, P<0.0001). There were significantly more lipid-rich cells in the primary aldosteronism and non-functioning tumor cases compared to cases of Cushing's syndrome (P=0.007 and 0.015, respectively). The CT attenuation numbers of the primary aldosteronism cases were significantly lower than those of Cushing's syndrome (P=0.0052). Furthermore, the CT attenuation numbers of the non-functioning tumor cases were lower than those of Cushing's syndrome cases. Conclusion: We showed that adrenal adenomas in primary aldosteronism and non-functioning tumors contain significantly more lipid-rich cells than those in Cushing's syndrome. They also showed significantly lower attenuation than that in Cushing's syndrome on CT scans. Our results suggest that precontrast CT attenuation numbers may be helpful in the differentiation of adenomas from non-adenomatous lesions, which include malignancies

  16. The development of an experimental set-up for the measurement of acoustic attenuation in sea-water and studies of the usefulness of acoustic attenuation as a parameter in oceanographic research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barkmann, R.

    1982-01-01

    A senson element is described for the measurement of ultrasound wave attenuation in water. This device has been developed for in-situ measurements of the additional attenuation caused by particles or air bubbles. Results are presented for the attenuation variations induced by ions and solid-state particles. The method is based on the emission of a 80 μs acoustic sine wave burst at about 10 MHz in a water container of 10 cm length. Then the amplitudes of the decaying echos are registrated, which are caused by reflections at the transducer and the reflector. The sound attenuation coefficient is obtained from the amplitude ratio of the first two echos, taking into account corrections caused by diffraction and reflection effects. (orig./RW) [de

  17. Electron attenuation characteristics of LiF

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paliwal, B R [Wisconsin Univ., Madison (USA). Div. of Clinical Oncology; Almond, P R

    1976-08-01

    The results of a study, indicating the exponential nature of the attenuation of electrons in LiF, are reported. This conclusion holds good not only for the monoenergetic electrons obtained from several pure ..beta.. emitters but also for the high energy electron beams delivered by radiotherapy facilities.

  18. Chlorine isotope investigation of natural attenuation of trichloroethene in an aerobic aquifer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sturchio, N.C.; Heraty, L.J.; Huang, L.; Holt, B.D.; Abrajano, T.A. Jr.; Clausen, J.L.

    1998-01-01

    Natural attenuation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) can be an important mechanism for groundwater remediation. It is difficult to determine the effectiveness of natural CAH attenuation from chemical analyses of groundwater samples because mixing, dispersion, and secondary reactions can mask the chemical evidence of attenuation. In this paper, the authors explore the application of stable chlorine isotope ratio measurements as a new tool for evaluating natural attenuation of CAHs. They report stable isotope ratios of chlorine in both trichloroethene (TCE) and inorganic chloride in groundwater from an aerobic aquifer beneath an extensively contaminated industrial site, the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in western Kentucky. Variations in the concentrations and chlorine isotope ratios of TCE and chloride in the groundwater are consistent with those expected from natural attenuation. These data support a model in which partial TCE degradation occurred in relatively impermeable, clay-rich sediments above the aquifer, and little or no further degradation of TCE occurred within the aquifer. A record of changing conditions within the TCE source area can be inferred from the spatial variation of chlorine isotope ratios for TCE and chloride within the plume

  19. Influence of the electromagnetic parameters on the surface wave attenuation in thin absorbing layers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yinrui; Li, Dongmeng; Wang, Xian; Nie, Yan; Gong, Rongzhou

    2018-05-01

    This paper describes the relationships between the surface wave attenuation properties and the electromagnetic parameters of radar absorbing materials (RAMs). In order to conveniently obtain the attenuation constant of TM surface waves over a wide frequency range, the simplified dispersion equations in thin absorbing materials were firstly deduced. The validity of the proposed method was proved by comparing with the classical dispersion equations. Subsequently, the attenuation constants were calculated separately for the absorbing layers with hypothetical relative permittivity and permeability. It is found that the surface wave attenuation properties can be strongly tuned by the permeability of RAM. Meanwhile, the permittivity should be appropriate so as to maintain high cutoff frequency. The present work provides specific methods and designs to improve the attenuation performances of radar absorbing materials.

  20. Direct Reconstruction of CT-based Attenuation Correction Images for PET with Cluster-Based Penalties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Soo Mee; Alessio, Adam M.; De Man, Bruno; Asma, Evren; Kinahan, Paul E.

    2015-01-01

    Extremely low-dose CT acquisitions for the purpose of PET attenuation correction will have a high level of noise and biasing artifacts due to factors such as photon starvation. This work explores a priori knowledge appropriate for CT iterative image reconstruction for PET attenuation correction. We investigate the maximum a posteriori (MAP) framework with cluster-based, multinomial priors for the direct reconstruction of the PET attenuation map. The objective function for direct iterative attenuation map reconstruction was modeled as a Poisson log-likelihood with prior terms consisting of quadratic (Q) and mixture (M) distributions. The attenuation map is assumed to have values in 4 clusters: air+background, lung, soft tissue, and bone. Under this assumption, the MP was a mixture probability density function consisting of one exponential and three Gaussian distributions. The relative proportion of each cluster was jointly estimated during each voxel update of direct iterative coordinate decent (dICD) method. Noise-free data were generated from NCAT phantom and Poisson noise was added. Reconstruction with FBP (ramp filter) was performed on the noise-free (ground truth) and noisy data. For the noisy data, dICD reconstruction was performed with the combination of different prior strength parameters (β and γ) of Q- and M-penalties. The combined quadratic and mixture penalties reduces the RMSE by 18.7% compared to post-smoothed iterative reconstruction and only 0.7% compared to quadratic alone. For direct PET attenuation map reconstruction from ultra-low dose CT acquisitions, the combination of quadratic and mixture priors offers regularization of both variance and bias and is a potential method to derive attenuation maps with negligible patient dose. However, the small improvement in quantitative accuracy relative to the substantial increase in algorithm complexity does not currently justify the use of mixture-based PET attenuation priors for reconstruction of CT

  1. Attenuated Vector Tomography -- An Approach to Image Flow Vector Fields with Doppler Ultrasonic Imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Qiu; Peng, Qiyu; Huang, Bin; Cheryauka, Arvi; Gullberg, Grant T.

    2008-01-01

    The measurement of flow obtained using continuous wave Doppler ultrasound is formulated as a directional projection of a flow vector field. When a continuous ultrasound wave bounces against a flowing particle, a signal is backscattered. This signal obtains a Doppler frequency shift proportional to the speed of the particle along the ultrasound beam. This occurs for each particle along the beam, giving rise to a Doppler velocity spectrum. The first moment of the spectrum provides the directional projection of the flow along the ultrasound beam. Signals reflected from points further away from the detector will have lower amplitude than signals reflected from points closer to the detector. The effect is very much akin to that modeled by the attenuated Radon transform in emission computed tomography.A least-squares method was adopted to reconstruct a 2D vector field from directional projection measurements. Attenuated projections of only the longitudinal projections of the vector field were simulated. The components of the vector field were reconstructed using the gradient algorithm to minimize a least-squares criterion. This result was compared with the reconstruction of longitudinal projections of the vector field without attenuation. If attenuation is known, the algorithm was able to accurately reconstruct both components of the full vector field from only one set of directional projection measurements. A better reconstruction was obtained with attenuation than without attenuation implying that attenuation provides important information for the reconstruction of flow vector fields.This confirms previous work where we showed that knowledge of the attenuation distribution helps in the reconstruction of MRI diffusion tensor fields from fewer than the required measurements. In the application of ultrasound the attenuation distribution is obtained with pulse wave transmission computed tomography and flow information is obtained with continuous wave Doppler

  2. Integrated MEMS-based variable optical attenuator and 10Gb/s receiver

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aberson, James; Cusin, Pierre; Fettig, H.; Hickey, Ryan; Wylde, James

    2005-03-01

    MEMS devices can be successfully commercialized in favour of competing technologies only if they offer an advantage to the customer in terms of lower cost or increased functionality. There are limited markets where MEMS can be manufactured cheaper than similar technologies due to large volumes: automotive, printing technology, wireless communications, etc. However, success in the marketplace can also be realized by adding significant value to a system at minimal cost or leverging MEMS technology when other solutions simply will not work. This paper describes a thermally actuated, MEMS based, variable optical attenuator that is co-packaged with existing opto-electronic devices to develop an integrated 10Gb/s SONET/SDH receiver. The configuration of the receiver opto-electronics and relatively low voltage availability (12V max) in optical systems bar the use of LCD, EO, and electro-chromic style attenuators. The device was designed and fabricated using a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) starting material. The design and performance of the device (displacement, power consumption, reliability, physical geometry) was defined by the receiver parameters geometry. This paper will describe how these design parameters (hence final device geometry) were determined in light of both the MEMS device fabrication process and the receiver performance. Reference will be made to the design tools used and the design flow which was a joint effort between the MEMS vendor and the end customer. The SOI technology offered a robust, manufacturable solution that gave the required performance in a cost-effective process. However, the singulation of the devices required the development of a new singulation technique that allowed large volumes of silicon to be removed during fabrication yet still offer high singulation yields.

  3. Physical interaction is not necessary for the induction of housing-type social buffering of conditioned hyperthermia in male rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiyokawa, Yasushi; Kodama, Yuka; Takeuchi, Yukari; Mori, Yuji

    2013-11-01

    In social animals, housing with conspecific animals after a stressful event attenuates the subsequent adverse outcomes due to the event, and this has been called housing-type social buffering. We have previously found that housing-type social buffering attenuates the enhancement of hyperthermia and Fos expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus that occurs in response to an aversive conditioned stimulus in male rats. Here, we analyzed the role of physical interactions during social housing in the induction of housing-type social buffering. When a fear-conditioned subject was alone after the conditioning and then exposed to the conditioned stimulus, it showed behavioral, autonomic, and neural stress responses. However, social housing, during which physical interactions were prevented by wire mesh, attenuated these autonomic and neural stress responses, as has been seen in previous studies. These results suggested that physical interaction was not necessary for the induction of housing-type social buffering. With this social cohabitation model, we then found that social cohabitation increased Fos expression in the posterior complex of the anterior olfactory nucleus of the fear-conditioned subject. Social cohabitation also increased Fos expression in 11 brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, the nucleus accumbens, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and the medial, lateral, basal, and cortical amygdala. These results provide information about the neural mechanisms that induce housing-type social buffering. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Calculation of noise attenuation coefficient for leaks in the system sodium-water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yugaj, V.S.; Kozlov, F.A.; Sorokina, T.G.

    1986-01-01

    In this report the authors present the calculation results for sound attenuation coefficient on hydrogen bubbles in sodium and show a calculation method of attenuation coefficient for different temperatures of sodium in the 1-200 kHz range frequencies [fr

  5. Polymer composites with carbon nanotube for application of radiation attenuator in medical procedures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fontainha, C.C.P.; Nunes, M.; Rosas, V.A., E-mail: crissia@gmail.com [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Departamento de Anatomia e Imagem; Furtado, C.A.; Faria, L.O. [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

    2017-07-01

    Medical radiology offers great benefit to patients, however, the radiation contributes for the workers and individuals exposure, significantly increasing dose to population. New attenuators materials have been widely investigated for radiation shielding to apply in medical procedures. Polymeric composites filled with attenuating metals and functionalized with carbon nanotubes (NTC) are being largely developed. In this work, composites were produced for radiation attenuation in radiodiagnostic imaging procedures. Two types of polymer matrices, polyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF, and its copolymer, poly(vinylidene-trifluorylene fluoride), P(VDF-TrFE), were filled bismuth oxide nanoparticles. Carbon nanotubes were added with different concentrations at the solution of attenuator metal under controlled magnetic stirring. The composites were characterized by differential heat flow scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dispersive energy X-ray spectrometry (EDS) for thermal analysis. In this setup, one reference measure is directly exposed to the x-rays being diffracted by single crystal of Si (111). Another measure the attenuated beam is performed with the composite sample under detector. The samples present a good dispersion of the attenuator metal and the nanotube carbon. On the other hand, composites with PVDF matrix lost their plasticity, stiffening their structure, becoming brittle, even using the same methodology of synthesis. The P(VDF-Trfe) matrix showed better maleability than PVDF matrix. The cheaptube dispersion in the P(VDF-Trfe) matrix presented better than the 3100 carbon nanotubes. The attenuation for 8.047 keV monoenergetic photons was about 90% to 100 μm thickness for all composites. (author)

  6. Polymer composites with carbon nanotube for application of radiation attenuator in medical procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fontainha, C.C.P.; Nunes, M.; Rosas, V.A.

    2017-01-01

    Medical radiology offers great benefit to patients, however, the radiation contributes for the workers and individuals exposure, significantly increasing dose to population. New attenuators materials have been widely investigated for radiation shielding to apply in medical procedures. Polymeric composites filled with attenuating metals and functionalized with carbon nanotubes (NTC) are being largely developed. In this work, composites were produced for radiation attenuation in radiodiagnostic imaging procedures. Two types of polymer matrices, polyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF, and its copolymer, poly(vinylidene-trifluorylene fluoride), P(VDF-TrFE), were filled bismuth oxide nanoparticles. Carbon nanotubes were added with different concentrations at the solution of attenuator metal under controlled magnetic stirring. The composites were characterized by differential heat flow scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dispersive energy X-ray spectrometry (EDS) for thermal analysis. In this setup, one reference measure is directly exposed to the x-rays being diffracted by single crystal of Si (111). Another measure the attenuated beam is performed with the composite sample under detector. The samples present a good dispersion of the attenuator metal and the nanotube carbon. On the other hand, composites with PVDF matrix lost their plasticity, stiffening their structure, becoming brittle, even using the same methodology of synthesis. The P(VDF-Trfe) matrix showed better maleability than PVDF matrix. The cheaptube dispersion in the P(VDF-Trfe) matrix presented better than the 3100 carbon nanotubes. The attenuation for 8.047 keV monoenergetic photons was about 90% to 100 μm thickness for all composites. (author)

  7. Measurement of attenuation cross-sections of some fatty acids in the ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    These quantities were obtained by utilizing experimentally measured values of mass attenuation coefficients ( μ m ) . A NaI(Tl) scintillation detector with 8.2% (at 662 keV) resolution was used for detecting of attenuated γ -photons. The variation in Zeff and Neff of fatty acids with energy is discussed. The experimental and ...

  8. Comparison of x-ray cross sections for diagnostic and therapeutic medical physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boone, J.M.; Chavez, A.E.

    1996-01-01

    The purpose of this technical report is to make available an up-to-date source of attenuation coefficient data to the medical physics community, and to compare these data with other more familiar sources. Data files from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (in Livermore, CA) were truncated to match the needs of the medical physics community, and an interpolation routine was written to calculate a continuous set of cross sections spanning energies from 1 keV to 50 MeV. Coefficient data are available for elements Z=1 through Z=100. Values for mass attenuation coefficients, mass-energy-transfer coefficients, and mass-energy absorption coefficients are produced by a single computer subroutine. In addition to total interaction cross sections, the cross sections for the photoelectric, Rayleigh, Compton, pair, and some triplet interactions are also produced by this single program. The coefficients were compared to the 1970 data of Storm and Israel over the energy interval from 1 to 1000 keV; for elements 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80, the average positive difference between the Storm and Israel coefficients and the coefficients reported here are 1.4%, 2.7%, and 2.6%, for the mass attenuation, mass energy-transfer, and mass-energy absorption coefficients, respectively. The 1969 data compilation of mass attenuation coefficients from McMaster et al. were also compared with the newer LLNL data. Over the energy region from 10 keV to 1000 keV, and from elements Z=1 to Z=82 (inclusive), the overall average difference was 1.53% (σ=0.85%). While the overall average difference was small, there was larger variation (>5%) between cross sections for some elements. In addition to coefficient data, other useful data such as the density, atomic weight, K, L 1 , L 2 , L 3 , M, and N edges, and numerous characteristic emission energies are output by the program, depending on a single input variable

  9. Dehydroepiandrosterone Attenuates Cocaine-Seeking Behaviour Independently of Corticosterone Fluctuations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maayan, R; Hirsh, L; Yadid, G; Weizman, A

    2015-11-01

    The neurosteroid dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is involved in the pathophysiology of several psychiatric disorders, including cocaine addiction. We have previously shown that DHEA attenuates cocaine-seeking behaviour, and also that DHEA decreases corticosterone (CORT) levels in plasma and the prefrontal cortex. Previous studies have found that rats demonstrate cocaine-seeking behaviour only when the level of CORT reaches a minimum threshold. In the present study, we investigated whether the attenuating effect of DHEA on cocaine seeking is a result of it reducing CORT levels rather than a result of any unique neurosteroid properties. Rats received either daily DHEA injections (2 mg/kg, i.p.) alone, daily DHEA (2 mg/kg, i.p.) with CORT infusion (to maintain stable basal levels of CORT; 15 mg/kg, s.c.) or vehicle (i.p.) as control, throughout self-administration training and extinction sessions. We found that both DHEA-treated and DHEA + CORT-treated groups showed a significantly lower number of active lever presses compared to controls throughout training and extinction sessions, as well as at cocaine-primed reinstatement. DHEA-treated rats showed lower CORT levels throughout the experimental phases compared to DHEA + CORT-treated and control rats. Additionally, we show that DHEA administered to cocaine-trained rats throughout extinction sessions, or immediately before reinstatement, attenuated cocaine seeking. These findings indicate that DHEA attenuates cocaine-seeking behaviour independently of fluctuations in CORT levels. © 2015 British Society for Neuroendocrinology.

  10. Antisporozoite antibodies in mice immunized with irradiation-attenuated Plasmodium berghei sporozoites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hansen, R.; Silva, S.de; Strickland, G.T.

    1979-01-01

    Sera from NMRI/NIH mice were tested for the presence of IgM and IgG anti-sporozoite antibodies using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). Both IgM and IgG antibody titres were related to the number of immunizations with irradiation-attenuated Plasmodium berghei sporozoites, and protection from challenge with subsequent non-attenuated sporozoites correlated with the pre-challenge antibody titre. Sera taken five days following challenge showed marked reductions in antibody titres, except for the group receiving the maximum (four) immunizations. Groups immunized with frozen sporozoites or mosquito tissue antigen developed neither antibodies to sporozoites nor protective immunity; nor did animals infected with parasitized blood. However, sera from mice immunized four times with attenuated sporozoites demonstrated IFA titres to blood-stage antigens. The results showed that both IgM and IgG anti-sporozoite antibodies could be detected in mice immunized with attenuated-sporozoites by IFAT, and that the antibody titres correlated with protective immunity. Cross reaction with blood-stage antigens occurred, but the test should still prove useful. (author)

  11. On the Attenuation of Neutrons and Photons in a Duct Filled with a Helical Plug

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aalto, E; Krell, Aa

    1966-12-15

    Neutron and gamma ray attenuation has been studied in a cylindrical duct, length/diam. ratio 7, partly (36 vol.%) filled by a helical (screw-like) plug with adjustable number of turns. The total neutron leakage through the duct decreased by a factor of six from zero to 0.5 turn, and by an additional factor of three from 0.5 to 2 turns (saturation value). The leakage with less than 0.5 turn is governed by fast flux and above 0.5 turn by epithermal flux. It is observed that the attenuation calculation in a homogenized, infinite material combined with the predicted attenuation in a duct give the measured saturation attenuation. The length coordinates used must be slightly modified in this case. The attenuation of gamma in the saturation case (3 turns) equals that predicted without the duct attenuation in a homogenized infinite material.

  12. Simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and activity in ToF PET/MRI with additional transmission data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D’Hoe, Ester [MEDISIP Medical Imaging and Signal Processing Group, Ghent University, IBBT-IBiTech, iMinds Medical IT, Ghent (Belgium); Department of Nuclear Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels (Belgium); Mollet, Pieter; Mikhaylova, Ekaterina [MEDISIP Medical Imaging and Signal Processing Group, Ghent University, IBBT-IBiTech, iMinds Medical IT, Ghent (Belgium); Defrise, Michel [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels (Belgium); Vandenberghe, Stefaan [MEDISIP Medical Imaging and Signal Processing Group, Ghent University, IBBT-IBiTech, iMinds Medical IT, Ghent (Belgium)

    2015-05-18

    In Time-of-Flight PET/MRI systems accurate attenuation correction, based on the MRI image, is not straight forward. An alternative is attenuation correction based on emission data only. This is for instance done by simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and activity with the MLAA algorithm, but the method as originally proposed has certain limits. The attenuation can only be determined up to a constant and in regions of low tracer uptake, the method results in less accurate attenuation values. An adapted MLAA algorithm has been proposed to overcome this issues and was successfully applied on simulation studies. The so called MLAA+ algorithm uses regular PET emission data as well as transmission data. This transmission data is acquired after insertion of an annulus shaped transmission source into the scanner bore. The Time-of-Flight information allows to separate transmission and emission data in a simultaneous acquisition. With the transmission data, an MLTR-based reference attenuation image is reconstructed. Afterwards, this attenuation image is used in the MLAA+ simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and emission as a reference. We here propose the results of the reconstruction of patient data, based on the MLAA+ algorithm. In total, seven patients were scanned in a sequential PET/MRI scanner and afterwards in a CT scanner. The CT scan is used as an attenuation map to reconstruct the PET emission data with the well established MLEM algorithm. This reconstruction can be seen as the gold standard to which we can compare the MLAA and MLAA+ reconstructions. A preliminary study on one patient indicates that the MLAA+ algorithm results in better reconstructed emission and attenuation images as compared to the MLAA algorithm. If we compare the MLAA+ method to the gold standard, there is still room for improvement.

  13. Simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and activity in ToF PET/MRI with additional transmission data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D’Hoe, Ester; Mollet, Pieter; Mikhaylova, Ekaterina; Defrise, Michel; Vandenberghe, Stefaan

    2015-01-01

    In Time-of-Flight PET/MRI systems accurate attenuation correction, based on the MRI image, is not straight forward. An alternative is attenuation correction based on emission data only. This is for instance done by simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and activity with the MLAA algorithm, but the method as originally proposed has certain limits. The attenuation can only be determined up to a constant and in regions of low tracer uptake, the method results in less accurate attenuation values. An adapted MLAA algorithm has been proposed to overcome this issues and was successfully applied on simulation studies. The so called MLAA+ algorithm uses regular PET emission data as well as transmission data. This transmission data is acquired after insertion of an annulus shaped transmission source into the scanner bore. The Time-of-Flight information allows to separate transmission and emission data in a simultaneous acquisition. With the transmission data, an MLTR-based reference attenuation image is reconstructed. Afterwards, this attenuation image is used in the MLAA+ simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and emission as a reference. We here propose the results of the reconstruction of patient data, based on the MLAA+ algorithm. In total, seven patients were scanned in a sequential PET/MRI scanner and afterwards in a CT scanner. The CT scan is used as an attenuation map to reconstruct the PET emission data with the well established MLEM algorithm. This reconstruction can be seen as the gold standard to which we can compare the MLAA and MLAA+ reconstructions. A preliminary study on one patient indicates that the MLAA+ algorithm results in better reconstructed emission and attenuation images as compared to the MLAA algorithm. If we compare the MLAA+ method to the gold standard, there is still room for improvement.

  14. On the sound attenuation in fluid due to the thermal diffusion and viscous dissipation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Hanping, E-mail: hphu@ustc.edu.cn; Wang, Yandong; Wang, Dongdong

    2015-09-11

    We review the sound attenuation in fluid due to the thermal diffusion and viscous dissipation and derive the formula of the sound attenuation coefficient in fluid by solving a fully thermally–mechanically coupled equation set. Problem occurring in Stokes–Kirchhoff relation, the well-known and widely used classical formula for sound attenuation coefficient, is therefore found and pointed out. The reason for its generation is analyzed and verified. An improved formula to replace Stokes–Kirchhoff relation is suggested and the typical case for the error in calculating sound pressure level (SPL) of attenuated sound wave in fluid between the two formulas is also given. - Highlights: • Problem with Stokes–Kirchhoff relation. • Generation reason of defect in Stokes–Kirchhoff relation. • An improved formula for sound attenuation coefficient in fluid. • Typical cases of the calculation error by Stokes–Kirchhoff relation.

  15. Stress Wave attenuation in SiC3D/Al Composite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan Chunyuan; Wang Yangwei; Li Guoju; Zhang Xu; Gao Jubin

    2013-01-01

    SiC 3D /Al composite is a kind of special composite with interpenetrating network microstructure. The attenuation properties of stress wave propagation along the SiC 3D /Al composite are studied by a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar system and FEM simulations, and the attenuation mechanism is discussed in this paper. Results show that the attenuation rate of the stress wave in the composite is up to 1.73MPa·mm −1 . The reduction of the amplitude of waves is caused by that plenty of interfaces between SiC and Al within the composite acting with stress waves. When the incident plane wave reaches the SiC 3D /Al interface, reflection wave and transmission wave propagates in different directions along the irregular interface between SiC phase and aluminium phase due to the impedance mismatch of them, which leads to the divergence of stress wave. At the same time, some stress micro-focuses occurs in the aluminium phase for the complex wave superimposition, and some plastic deformation may take place within such micro-regions, which results in the consumption of stress wave energy. In conclusion, the stress wave attenuation is derived from divergence and consumption of stress wave.

  16. Surgical attenuation of congenital portosystemic shunts in dogs. Techniques, complications and prognosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kummeling, A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304828793

    2009-01-01

    The general aim of this thesis was to identify factors associated with outcome after surgical attenuation of congenital portosystemic shunts (CPSS) in dogs and to clarify underlying mechanisms of postoperative recovery in this disease. Two surgical techniques used for CPSS attenuation, ligation and

  17. Continental Fog Attenuation Empirical Relationship from Measured Visibility Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Nadeem

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Free Space Optics (FSO has the great potential for future communication applications. However, weather influenced reduced availability had been the main cause for its restricted growth. Among different weather influences fog plays the major role. A new model generalized for all FSO wavelengths, has been proposed for the prediction of continental fog attenuation using visibility data. The performance of the proposed model has been compared with well known models for measured attenuation data of Continental fog. The comparison has been performed in terms of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE.

  18. Adipose tissue and muscle attenuation as novel biomarkers predicting mortality in patients with extremity sarcomas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Veld, Joyce; Vossen, Josephina A.; Torriani, Martin; Bredella, Miriam A. [Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Division of Musculoskeletal Imaging and Intervention, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); De Amorim Bernstein, Karen [Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Department of Radiation Oncology, Francis H Burr Proton Therapy Center, Boston, MA (United States); Halpern, Elkan F. [Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Institute of Technology Assessment, Boston, MA (United States)

    2016-12-15

    To assess CT-attenuation of abdominal adipose tissue and psoas muscle as predictors of mortality in patients with sarcomas of the extremities. Our study was IRB approved and HIPAA compliant. The study group comprised 135 patients with history of extremity sarcoma (mean age: 53 ± 17 years) who underwent whole body PET/CT. Abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and psoas muscle attenuation (HU) was assessed on non-contrast, attenuation-correction CT. Clinical information including survival, tumour stage, sarcoma type, therapy and pre-existing comorbidities were recorded. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine longitudinal associations between adipose tissue and muscle attenuation and mortality. There were 47 deaths over a mean follow-up period of 20 ± 17 months. Higher SAT and lower psoas attenuation were associated with increased mortality (p = 0.03 and p = 0.005, respectively), which remained significant after adjustment for age, BMI, sex, tumor stage, therapy, and comorbidities (p = 0.002 and p = 0.02, respectively). VAT attenuation was not associated with mortality. Attenuation of SAT and psoas muscle, assessed on non-contrast CT, are predictors of mortality in patients with extremity sarcomas, independent of other established prognostic factors, suggesting that adipose tissue and muscle attenuation could serve as novel biomarkers for mortality in patients with sarcomas. (orig.)

  19. Adipose tissue and muscle attenuation as novel biomarkers predicting mortality in patients with extremity sarcomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veld, Joyce; Vossen, Josephina A.; Torriani, Martin; Bredella, Miriam A.; De Amorim Bernstein, Karen; Halpern, Elkan F.

    2016-01-01

    To assess CT-attenuation of abdominal adipose tissue and psoas muscle as predictors of mortality in patients with sarcomas of the extremities. Our study was IRB approved and HIPAA compliant. The study group comprised 135 patients with history of extremity sarcoma (mean age: 53 ± 17 years) who underwent whole body PET/CT. Abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and psoas muscle attenuation (HU) was assessed on non-contrast, attenuation-correction CT. Clinical information including survival, tumour stage, sarcoma type, therapy and pre-existing comorbidities were recorded. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine longitudinal associations between adipose tissue and muscle attenuation and mortality. There were 47 deaths over a mean follow-up period of 20 ± 17 months. Higher SAT and lower psoas attenuation were associated with increased mortality (p = 0.03 and p = 0.005, respectively), which remained significant after adjustment for age, BMI, sex, tumor stage, therapy, and comorbidities (p = 0.002 and p = 0.02, respectively). VAT attenuation was not associated with mortality. Attenuation of SAT and psoas muscle, assessed on non-contrast CT, are predictors of mortality in patients with extremity sarcomas, independent of other established prognostic factors, suggesting that adipose tissue and muscle attenuation could serve as novel biomarkers for mortality in patients with sarcomas. (orig.)

  20. A simulation of the optical attenuation of TPB coated light-guide detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, B J P

    2013-01-01

    This note is provided as a supplementary section to accompany the paper [1] which has been included in these proceedings. It describes some simple simulations which were performed in order to understand the attenuation behaviors of acrylic light-guides operated in air and argon, which were characterized in [2]. Whilst these simulations are only at the level of sophistication of a toy model, they illustrate interesting non-exponential light attenuation effects and the differences between operating light-guide based detectors in argon and air environments. We investigate the effects of surface absorption, surface roughness and wavelength dependence, and use a model tuned on the light-guide attenuation curve measured in air to make a prediction of the light-guide attenuation curve in argon. This curve is compared with data from a liquid argon test stand, and an improvement over a simple exponential model is observed

  1. Performance Limitations Analysis of Imperfect Attenuators for Adaptive Self-Interference Cancellation System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Liu

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Radio frequency (RF adaptive self-interference cancellation system (RFAICS is extensively used to suppress the self-interference of radios operating in the same platform, such as military command vehicles, airplanes and navy vessels. RFAICS is generally consisted of couplers, attenuators, delay units, amplifiers, and filters and so on. However, RFAICS usually suffers severely from the imperfect attenuators. This paper firstly explores the RFAICS operation process in theory, and then thoroughly investigates and analyzes the negative effects of non-ideal attenuators on performance of RFAICS. The closed-form expressions fully describing the influences of attenuation bias and response-time respectively on the interference cancellation ratio (ICR and system convergence time (SCT are developed with this aim. Simulations are provided for the validity of the limitation analysis and obtained expressions. Results of simulations are in agreement with theoretical analysis, which is significant for component configuration in taking RFAICS into practice.

  2. Evaluation of frequency-dependent ultrasound attenuation in transparent medium using focused shadowgraph technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iijima, Yukina; Kudo, Nobuki

    2017-07-01

    Acoustic fields of a short-pulsed ultrasound propagating through a transparent medium with ultrasound attenuation were visualized by the focused shadowgraph technique. A brightness waveform and its spatial integrations were derived from a visualized field image and compared with a pressure waveform measured by a membrane hydrophone. The experimental results showed that first-order integration of the brightness wave has good agreement with the pressure waveforms. Frequency-dependent attenuation of the pulse propagating through castor oil was derived from brightness and pressure waveforms, and attenuation coefficients determined from focused shadowgraphy and hydrophone techniques showed good agreement. The results suggest the usefulness of the shadowgraph technique not only for the visualization of ultrasound fields but also for noncontact estimation of rough pressure waveforms and correct ultrasound attenuation.

  3. Errors in MR-based attenuation correction for brain imaging with PET/MR scanners

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rota Kops, Elena; Herzog, Hans

    2013-01-01

    Aim: Attenuation correction of PET data acquired by hybrid MR/PET scanners remains a challenge, even if several methods for brain and whole-body measurements have been developed recently. A template-based attenuation correction for brain imaging proposed by our group is easy to handle and delivers reliable attenuation maps in a short time. However, some potential error sources are analyzed in this study. We investigated the choice of template reference head among all the available data (error A), and possible skull anomalies of the specific patient, such as discontinuities due to surgery (error B). Materials and methods: An anatomical MR measurement and a 2-bed-position transmission scan covering the whole head and neck region were performed in eight normal subjects (4 females, 4 males). Error A: Taking alternatively one of the eight heads as reference, eight different templates were created by nonlinearly registering the images to the reference and calculating the average. Eight patients (4 females, 4 males; 4 with brain lesions, 4 w/o brain lesions) were measured in the Siemens BrainPET/MR scanner. The eight templates were used to generate the patients' attenuation maps required for reconstruction. ROI and VOI atlas-based comparisons were performed employing all the reconstructed images. Error B: CT-based attenuation maps of two volunteers were manipulated by manually inserting several skull lesions and filling a nasal cavity. The corresponding attenuation coefficients were substituted with the water's coefficient (0.096/cm). Results: Error A: The mean SUVs over the eight templates pairs for all eight patients and all VOIs did not differ significantly one from each other. Standard deviations up to 1.24% were found. Error B: After reconstruction of the volunteers' BrainPET data with the CT-based attenuation maps without and with skull anomalies, a VOI-atlas analysis was performed revealing very little influence of the skull lesions (less than 3%), while the filled

  4. Errors in MR-based attenuation correction for brain imaging with PET/MR scanners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rota Kops, Elena; Herzog, Hans

    2013-02-01

    AimAttenuation correction of PET data acquired by hybrid MR/PET scanners remains a challenge, even if several methods for brain and whole-body measurements have been developed recently. A template-based attenuation correction for brain imaging proposed by our group is easy to handle and delivers reliable attenuation maps in a short time. However, some potential error sources are analyzed in this study. We investigated the choice of template reference head among all the available data (error A), and possible skull anomalies of the specific patient, such as discontinuities due to surgery (error B). Materials and methodsAn anatomical MR measurement and a 2-bed-position transmission scan covering the whole head and neck region were performed in eight normal subjects (4 females, 4 males). Error A: Taking alternatively one of the eight heads as reference, eight different templates were created by nonlinearly registering the images to the reference and calculating the average. Eight patients (4 females, 4 males; 4 with brain lesions, 4 w/o brain lesions) were measured in the Siemens BrainPET/MR scanner. The eight templates were used to generate the patients' attenuation maps required for reconstruction. ROI and VOI atlas-based comparisons were performed employing all the reconstructed images. Error B: CT-based attenuation maps of two volunteers were manipulated by manually inserting several skull lesions and filling a nasal cavity. The corresponding attenuation coefficients were substituted with the water's coefficient (0.096/cm). ResultsError A: The mean SUVs over the eight templates pairs for all eight patients and all VOIs did not differ significantly one from each other. Standard deviations up to 1.24% were found. Error B: After reconstruction of the volunteers' BrainPET data with the CT-based attenuation maps without and with skull anomalies, a VOI-atlas analysis was performed revealing very little influence of the skull lesions (less than 3%), while the filled nasal

  5. Novel reconfigurable wide-beam radio interferometer for space physics instrumentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dekoulis, George; Honary, Farideh

    2008-07-01

    This paper describes the instrumentation design of a novel wide-beam interferometer system for radio astronomy studies. The system measures the Earth's or another planet's atmospheric layers attenuation of the highly energetic galactic electron emissions superimposed on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and other last scattering surface galactic and extragalactic radio astronomical background emissions. Right ascension coordinates are surveyed in a unique manner in terms of digital signal processing flexibility, compared to existing wide-beam instrumentations, allowing higher resolution analysis of the captured Space Physics events. The system provides a prototyping platform for other Space Physics projects, since a modular software and hardware design approach has been followed. The system is reconfigurable to meet a variety of testing scenarios.

  6. Day/Night Variability in Blood Pressure: Influence of Posture and Physical Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND Blood pressure (BP) is highest during the day and lowest at night. Absence of this rhythm is a predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Contributions of changes in posture and physical activity to the 24-hour day/night rhythm in BP are not well understood. We hypothesized that postural changes and physical activity contribute substantially to the day/night rhythm in BP. METHODS Fourteen healthy, sedentary, nonobese, normotensive men (aged 19–50 years) each completed an ambulatory and a bed rest condition during which BP was measured every 30–60 minutes for 24 hours. When ambulatory, subjects followed their usual routines without restrictions to capture the “normal” condition. During bed rest, subjects were constantly confined to bed in a 6-degree head-down position; therefore posture was constant, and physical activity was minimized. Two subjects were excluded from analysis because of irregular sleep timing. RESULTS The systolic and diastolic BP reduction during the sleep period was similar in ambulatory (−11±2mmHg/−8±1mmHg) and bed rest conditions (−8±3mmHg/−4±2mmHg; P = 0.38/P = 0.12). The morning surge in diastolic BP was attenuated during bed rest (P = 0.001), and there was a statistical trend for the same effect in systolic BP (P = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS A substantial proportion of the 24-hour BP rhythm remained during bed rest, indicating that typical daily changes in posture and/or physical activity do not entirely explain 24-hour BP variation under normal ambulatory conditions. However, the morning BP increase was attenuated during bed rest, suggesting that the adoption of an upright posture and/or physical activity in the morning contributes to the morning BP surge. PMID:23535155

  7. Inhibitory effect of live-attenuated Listeria monocytogenes-based vaccines expressing MIA gene on malignant melanoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Yue; Zhang, Na; Jiang, Ping; Chen, Siyuan; Chu, Shujuan; Hamze, Firas; Wu, Yan; Luo, Qin; Feng, Aiping

    2012-08-01

    Listeria monocytogenes (LM), a Gram-positive facultative intracellular bacterium, can be used as an effective exogenous antigen expression vector in tumor-target therapy. But for successful clinical application, it is necessary to construct attenuated LM stain that is safe yet retains the potency of LM based on the full virulent pathogen. In this study, attenuated LM and recombinants of LM expressing melanoma inhibitory activity (MIA) were constructed successfully. The median lethal dose (LD(50)) and invasion efficiency of attenuated LM strains were detected. The recombinants were utilized for immunotherapy of animal model of B16F10 melanoma. The level of MIA mRNA expression in tumor tissue was detected by using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific sequence, meanwhile the anti-tumor immune response was assayed by flow cytometric analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISPOT) assay. The results showed the toxicity and invasiveness of attenuated LM were decreased as compared with LM, and attenuated LM expressing MIA, especially the double-genes attenuated LM recombinant, could significantly induce anti-tumor immune response and inhibit tumor growth. This study implicates attenuated LM may be a safer and more effective vector for immunotherapy of melanoma.

  8. Evaluation of attenuation and scatter correction requirements in small animal PET and SPECT imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konik, Arda Bekir

    Positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission tomography (SPECT) are two nuclear emission-imaging modalities that rely on the detection of high-energy photons emitted from radiotracers administered to the subject. The majority of these photons are attenuated (absorbed or scattered) in the body, resulting in count losses or deviations from true detection, which in turn degrades the accuracy of images. In clinical emission tomography, sophisticated correction methods are often required employing additional x-ray CT or radionuclide transmission scans. Having proven their potential in both clinical and research areas, both PET and SPECT are being adapted for small animal imaging. However, despite the growing interest in small animal emission tomography, little scientific information exists about the accuracy of these correction methods on smaller size objects, and what level of correction is required. The purpose of this work is to determine the role of attenuation and scatter corrections as a function of object size through simulations. The simulations were performed using Interactive Data Language (IDL) and a Monte Carlo based package, Geant4 application for emission tomography (GATE). In IDL simulations, PET and SPECT data acquisition were modeled in the presence of attenuation. A mathematical emission and attenuation phantom approximating a thorax slice and slices from real PET/CT data were scaled to 5 different sizes (i.e., human, dog, rabbit, rat and mouse). The simulated emission data collected from these objects were reconstructed. The reconstructed images, with and without attenuation correction, were compared to the ideal (i.e., non-attenuated) reconstruction. Next, using GATE, scatter fraction values (the ratio of the scatter counts to the total counts) of PET and SPECT scanners were measured for various sizes of NEMA (cylindrical phantoms representing small animals and human), MOBY (realistic mouse/rat model) and XCAT (realistic human model

  9. Enhanced replication of attenuated HSV-1 in irradiated human glioma xenografts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Advani, Sunil J.; Kataoka, Yasushi; Sibley, Greg S.; Song, Paul Y.; Hallahan, Dennis E.; Roizman, Bernard; Weichselbaum, Ralph R.

    1997-01-01

    Purpose: Previously we had shown that combining ionizing radiation (IR) with attenuated replication competent HSV-1 (R3616) significantly increased glioma xenograft eradication compared to IR or virus alone. One hypothesis is that IR induces cell factors that contribute to augment viral replication thereby increasing the efficacy of attenuated HSV-1. The purpose of this study was to examine if IR altered viral replication of attenuated HSV-1 in glioma xenografts Material and Methods: Human U-87MG glioma cells were grown in the hindlimb of athymic mice and grown to >200 mm 3 . Tumors were infected with 2x10 7 plaque forming units (pfu) of R3616 ( γ1 34.5 - ) or R7020 (multimutated, γ1 34.5 + ) on day 0 and irradiated with 20 Gy on day 1 and 25 Gy on day 2. Tumors were harvested 3, 5, 7, and 14 days after viral injection. Tumors were homogenized and sonnicated. Serial dilutions of tumor extract were overlaid on Vero cells to determine the number of pfu. In addition, in-situ hybridization to HSV-1 DNA was performed on tumors harvested at day 7. Results: In-situ hybridization revealed larger numbers of glial cells infected with HSV along with a greater distribution in the irradiated tumors compared to non-irradiated tumors. We next quantified viral particles in infected tumors +/- IR: Conclusion: Herein we demonstrate radiation enhanced viral replication as one of the interactive effects of combining IR and attenuated HSV in treating glioma xenografts and a potential therapeutic motif in the treatment of gliomas. To reduce normal tissue toxicity of HSV in glioma therapy, viruses must be attenuated. However, attenuating the virus compromises its replication and thus its potential efficacy. Our results indicate that IR augments the amount of virus recovered from human glioma xenografts for up to 3 days post IR. The results do not appear to be related to a specific mutation in the herpes genome but rather to herpes viruses in general. Yields of R7020 were greater than R

  10. Estrogen Receptor β Agonist Attenuates Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Induced Changes in Social Behavior and Brain Connectivity in Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crider, Amanda; Nelson, Tyler; Davis, Talisha; Fagan, Kiley; Vaibhav, Kumar; Luo, Matthew; Kamalasanan, Sunay; Terry, Alvin V; Pillai, Anilkumar

    2018-02-12

    Impaired social interaction is a key feature of several major psychiatric disorders including depression, autism, and schizophrenia. While, anatomically, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is known as a key regulator of social behavior, little is known about the cellular mechanisms that underlie impairments of social interaction. One etiological mechanism implicated in the pathophysiology of the aforementioned psychiatric disorders is cellular stress and consequent adaptive responses in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that can result from a variety of environmental and physical factors. The ER is an organelle that serves essential roles in protein modification, folding, and maturation of proteins; however, the specific role of ER stress in altered social behavior is unknown. In this study, treatment with tunicamycin, an ER stress inducer, enhanced the phosphorylation level of inositol-requiring ER-to-nucleus signal kinase 1 (IRE1) and increased X-box-binding protein 1 (XBP1) mRNA splicing activity in the mouse PFC, whereas inhibition of IRE1/XBP1 pathway in PFC by a viral particle approach attenuated social behavioral deficits caused by tunicamycin treatment. Reduced estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) protein levels were found in the PFC of male mice following tunicamycin treatment. Pretreatment with an ERβ specific agonist, ERB-041 significantly attenuated tunicamycin-induced deficits in social behavior, and activation of IRE1/XBP1 pathway in mouse PFC. Moreover, ERB-041 inhibited tunicamycin-induced increases in functional connectivity between PFC and hippocampus in male mice. Together, these results show that ERβ agonist attenuates ER stress-induced deficits in social behavior through the IRE-1/XBP1 pathway.

  11. The Attribute for Hydrocarbon Prediction Based on Attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hermana, Maman; Harith, Z Z T; Sum, C W; Ghosh, D P

    2014-01-01

    Hydrocarbon prediction is a crucial issue in the oil and gas industry. Currently, the prediction of pore fluid and lithology are based on amplitude interpretation which has the potential to produce pitfalls in certain conditions of reservoir. Motivated by this fact, this work is directed to find out other attributes that can be used to reduce the pitfalls in the amplitude interpretation. Some seismic attributes were examined and studies showed that the attenuation attribute is a better attribute for hydrocarbon prediction. Theoretically, the attenuation mechanism of wave propagation is associated with the movement of fluid in the pore; hence the existence of hydrocarbon in the pore will be represented by attenuation attribute directly. In this paper we evaluated the feasibility of the quality factor ratio of P-wave and S-wave (Qp/Qs) as hydrocarbon indicator using well data and also we developed a new attribute based on attenuation for hydrocarbon prediction -- Normalized Energy Reduction Stack (NERS). To achieve these goals, this work was divided into 3 main parts; estimating the Qp/Qs on well log data, testing the new attribute in the synthetic data and applying the new attribute on real data in Malay Basin data. The result show that the Qp/Qs is better than Poisson's ratio and Lamda over Mu as hydrocarbon indicator. The curve, trend analysis and contrast of Qp/Qs is more powerful at distinguishing pore fluid than Poisson ratio and Lamda over Mu. The NERS attribute was successful in distinguishing the hydrocarbon from brine on synthetic data. Applying this attribute on real data on Malay basin, the NERS attribute is qualitatively conformable with the structure and location where the gas is predicted. The quantitative interpretation of this attribute for hydrocarbon prediction needs to be investigated further

  12. Influence of attenuation correction and reconstruction techniques on the detection of hypoperfused lesions in brain SPECT studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghoorun, S.; Groenewald, W.A.; Baete, K.; Nuyts, J.; Dupont, P.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: Aim: To study the influence of attenuation correction and the reconstruction technique on the detection of hypoperfused lesions in brain SPECT imaging, Material and Methods: A simulation experiment was used in which the effects of attenuation and reconstruction were decoupled, A high resolution SPECT phantom was constructed using the BrainWeb database, In this phantom, activity values were assigned to grey and white matter (ratio 4:1) and scaled to obtain counts of the same magnitude as in clinical practice, The true attenuation map was generated by assigning attenuation coefficients to each tissue class (grey and white matter, cerebral spinal fluid, skull, soft and fatty tissue and air) to create a non-uniform attenuation map, The uniform attenuation map was calculated using an attenuation coefficient of 0.15 cm-1, Hypoperfused lesions of varying intensities and sizes were added. The phantom was then projected as typical SPECT projection data, taking into account attenuation and collimator blurring with the addition of Poisson noise, The projection data was reconstructed using four different methods of reconstruction: (1) filtered backprojection (FBP) with the uniform attenuation map; (2) FBP using the true attenuation map; (3) ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) (equivalent to 423 iterations) with a uniform attenuation map; and (4) OSEM with a true attenuation map. Different Gaussian postsmooth kernels were applied to the reconstructed images. Results: The analysis of the reconstructed data was performed using figures of merit such as signal to noise ratio (SNR), bias and variance. The results illustrated that uniform attenuation correction offered slight deterioration (less than 2%) with regard to SNR when compared to the ideal attenuation map. which in reality is not known. The iterative techniques produced superior signal to noise ratios (increase of 5 - 20 % depending on the lesion and the postsmooth) in comparison to the FBP methods

  13. Determination of gamma ray attenuation coefficient of archaeological ceramics from Parana State, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Richard M.C.; Appoloni, Carlos R.; Parreira, Paulo S.; Coimbra, Melayne M.; Aragao, Pedro H.A.

    1997-01-01

    This work demonstrates an alternative methodology for the linear attenuation coefficient determination (μρ) of irregular form samples. This methodology aims the study of indigenous archaeological ceramics from the region of Londrina, North of Parana State, Brazil. These ceramics are from Padre Carlos Weiss Historic Museum, Londrina University and belong to the Kaingaing tradition. Firstly, μρ determination by two mean method was performed by the gamma ray beam attenuation of the immersed ceramics, by using two different means with well-known linear attenuation coefficient. Beyond, the deduction of the equation for the μρ determination by the two-means methods, was also realized. By the other side, μρ theoretical value was determined with the XCOM computer program. This program uses the ceramics chemistry composition and provides an energy versus mass attenuation coefficient table. To verify the two-means method efficiency, five ceramics sample of thickness 1.15 cm and 1.87 cm were prepared with homogeneous clay. Theses ceramics, we used for the μρ determination using the attenuation method, and two-means method. The results and the μρ obtained deviation were compared for these samples, for the two methods. With the obtained results, it was concluded that the two-means method is applicable for the mass attenuation coefficient determination for the archaeometry studies. (author). 6 refs., 1 fig., 5 tabs

  14. Programming for seismogram 1-D generation, considering the attenuation and dispersing effects; Programa para gerar sismograma 1-D, considerando os efeitos da atenuacao e dispersao

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodrigues, Bruno de O.; Oliveira, Sergio A.M. de [Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense (UENF), Macae, RJ (Brazil). Lab. de Engenharia e Exploracao do Petroleo (LENEP)

    2004-07-01

    For a processing and an interpretation of correct seismic data, it is necessary to recognize and to know as the factors act that influence in the propagation of the seismic waves, as the attenuation and the dispersion, constituting in the biggest practical impediment for the use of seismic for targets the big depths, limiting the resolution of the method. However these phenomena little are taken in consideration in the analysis of the data, thus the necessity of its bigger agreement, because if attenuation and dispersion they confuse the application of the seismic, if convenient understood and measures, can be valuable sources of information about the constitution of the rocks. Therefore, in this work the effect of the attenuation and dispersion in the data of reflection seismic had been simulated on a program, in Mat-Lab. Being able to generate 1-D seismograms, in the domain of the time, considering the normal incidence of plain wave in a package of plain, horizontal and isotropic layers, taking in account the physical attributes of the way, being able to simulate the effects of ghost and of multiples of free surface, if considering the source in the water. (author)

  15. Plasma-parameter measurements using neutral-particle-beam attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foote, J.H.; Molvik, A.W.; Turner, W.C.

    1982-01-01

    Intense and energetic neutral-particle-beam injection used for fueling or heating magnetically confined, controlled-fusion experimental plasmas can also provide diagnostic measurements of the plasmas. The attenuation of an atomic beam (mainly from charge-exchange and ionization interactions) when passing through a plasma gives the plasma line density. Orthogonal arrays of highly collimated detectors of the secondary-electron-emission type have been used in magnetic-mirror experiments to measure neutral-beam attenuation along chords through the plasma volume at different radial and axial positions. The radial array is used to infer the radial plasma-density profile; the axial array, to infer the axial plasma-density profile and the ion angular distribution at the plasma midplane

  16. Is Necessary Attenuation Correction for Cat Brain PET?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jin Su; Lee, Jae Sung; Park, Min Hyun; Im, Ki Chun; Oh, Seung Ha; Lee, Dong Soo; Moon, Dae Hyuk

    2007-01-01

    Photon attenuation and scatter corrections (AC and SC) were necessary for quantification of human PET. However, there is no consensus on whether AC and SC are necessary for the cat brain PET imaging. Since post-injection transmission (TX) PET scans are not permitted or provided to microPET scanner users at present, additional time for performing TX scan and awaiting FDG uptake is required for attenuation and scatter corrections. Increasing probability of subject movement and possible biological effect of long term anesthesia would be the problem in additional TX scan. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of AC and SC for the quantification of cat brain PET data

  17. Three-dimensional reconstruction of a radionuclide distribution within a medium of uniform coefficient of attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diaz, J.E.

    1982-01-01

    The non-invasive, fully three-dimensional reconstruction of a radionuclide distribution is studied. The problem is considered in ideal form. Several solutions, ranging from the completely analytical to the completely graphical, are presented for both the non-attenuated and uniformly attenuated cases. A function is defined which, if enacted as a response to each detected photon, will yield, upon superposition, a faithful reconstruction of the radionuclide density. Two and three-dimensional forms of this functions are defined for both the non-attenuated and uniformly attenuated case

  18. Attenuation coefficient determination of printed ABS and PLA samples in diagnostic radiology standard beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veneziani, G.R.; Correa, E.L.; Potiens, M.P.A.; Campos, L.L.

    2015-01-01

    IAEA code of practice TRS-457 states that standard phantoms should offer the same primary attenuation and scatter production as relevant body section of a representative patient. Material cost, availability and dimensional stability must also be considered. The goal of this study is to determine the attenuation coefficient of printed ABS and PLA in standard X-ray beams, verifying if phantoms printed with these materials could be an easier-handle substitute for PMMA, enabling the creation of different designs in an easier and cheaper way. Results show that PMMA presents higher attenuation coefficient, followed by PLA and ABS, which means that thinner PMMA layer creates higher radiation attenuation. (author)

  19. Attenuation and velocity dispersion in the exploration seismic frequency band

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Langqiu

    In an anelastic medium, seismic waves are distorted by attenuation and velocity dispersion, which depend on petrophysical properties of reservoir rocks. The effective attenuation and velocity dispersion is a combination of intrinsic attenuation and apparent attenuation due to scattering, transmission response, and data acquisition system. Velocity dispersion is usually neglected in seismic data processing partly because of insufficient observations in the exploration seismic frequency band. This thesis investigates the methods of measuring velocity dispersion in the exploration seismic frequency band and interprets the velocity dispersion data in terms of petrophysical properties. Broadband, uncorrelated vibrator data are suitable for measuring velocity dispersion in the exploration seismic frequency band, and a broad bandwidth optimizes the observability of velocity dispersion. Four methods of measuring velocity dispersion in uncorrelated vibrator VSP data are investigated, which are the sliding window crosscorrelation (SWCC) method, the instantaneous phase method, the spectral decomposition method, and the cross spectrum method. Among them, the SWCC method is a new method and has satisfactory robustness, accuracy, and efficiency. Using the SWCC method, velocity dispersion is measured in the uncorrelated vibrator VSP data from three areas with different geological settings, i.e., Mallik gas hydrate zone, McArthur River uranium mines, and Outokumpu crystalline rocks. The observed velocity dispersion is fitted to a straight line with respect to log frequency for a constant (frequency-independent) Q value. This provides an alternative method for calculating Q. A constant Q value does not directly link to petrophysical properties. A modeling study is implemented for the Mallik and McArthur River data to interpret the velocity dispersion observations in terms of petrophysical properties. The detailed multi-parameter petrophysical reservoir models are built according to

  20. Viscothermal Coupling Effects on Sound Attenuation in Concentrated Colloidal Dispersions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Wei

    1995-11-01

    This thesis describes a Unified Coupled Phase Continuum (UCPC) model to analyze sound propagation through aerosols, emulsions and suspensions in terms of frequency dependent attenuation coefficient and sound speed. Expressions for the viscous and thermal coupling coefficients explicitly account for the effects of particle size, shape factor, orientation as well as concentration and the sound frequency. The UCPC model also takes into account the intrinsic acoustic absorption within the fluid medium due to its viscosity and heat conductivity. The effective complex wave number as a function of frequency is derived. A frequency- and concentration-dependent complex Nusselt number for the interfacial thermal coupling coefficient is derived using an approximate similarity between the 'viscous skin drag' and 'heat conduction flux' associated with the discontinuous suspended phase, on the basis of a cell model. The theoretical predictions of attenuation spectra provide satisfactory agreement with reported experimental data on two concentrated suspensions (polystyrene latex and kaolin pigment), two concentrated emulsions (toluene -in-water, n-hexadecane-in-water), and two aerosols (oleic acid droplets-in-nitrogen, alumina-in-air), covering a wide range of relative magnitudes (from 10^ {-3} to 10^{3}) of thermal versus viscous contributions, for dispersed phase volume fractions as high as 50%. The relative differences between the additive result of separate viscous and thermal loss estimates and combined viscothermal absorption results are also presented. Effects of particle shape on viscous attenuation of sound in concentrated suspensions of non-spherical clay particles are studied. Attenuation spectra for 18 frequencies from 3 to 100 MHz are measured and analyzed for eleven kaolin clay slurries with solid concentrations ranging from 0.6% to 35% (w/w). A modified viscous drag coefficient that considers frequency, concentration, particle size, shape and orientation of

  1. Impact shock frequency components and attenuation in rearfoot and forefoot running

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allison H. Gruber

    2014-06-01

    Conclusion: The difference in impact shock frequency content between footfall patterns suggests that the primary mechanisms for attenuation may differ. The relationship between shock attenuation mechanisms and injury is not clear but given the differences in impact frequency content, neither footfall pattern may be more beneficial for injury, rather the type of injury sustained may vary with footfall pattern preference.

  2. Relationship between Secchi depth and the diffuse light attenuation coefficient in Danish estuaries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Murray, Ciarán; Markager, Stiig

    Analyis of temporal and spatial variation in the in the relationship between light attenuation and Secchi depth in Danish monitoring data There can be found timeseries of Secchi depth measurements in Danish waters which extend relatively far back in time. The Secchi depth measurement is therefore...... useful in that it allows comparison of present conditions with these older observations. An empirical inverse relationship between Secchi depth and light attenuation coefficient, Kd, has traditionally been used to estimate the light attenuation coefficient from Secchi depth measurements. However, studies...... have shown that the assumption of a constant inverse relationship between Kd and Secchi depth does not hold. The authors have analyzed measurements of Secchi depth and light attenuation from Danish monitoring data. The data used in our investigation was collected over a continuous period from 1986...

  3. Pathogenesis of virulent and attenuated foot-and-mouth disease virus in cattle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arzt, Jonathan; Pacheco, Juan M; Stenfeldt, Carolina; Rodriguez, Luis L

    2017-05-02

    Understanding the mechanisms of attenuation and virulence of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in the natural host species is critical for development of next-generation countermeasures such as live-attenuated vaccines. Functional genomics analyses of FMDV have identified few virulence factors of which the leader proteinase (L pro ) is the most thoroughly investigated. Previous work from our laboratory has characterized host factors in cattle inoculated with virulent FMDV and attenuated mutant strains with transposon insertions within L pro . In the current study, the characteristics defining virulence of FMDV in cattle were further investigated by comparing the pathogenesis of a mutant, attenuated strain (FMDV-Mut) to the parental, virulent virus from which the mutant was derived (FMDV-WT). The only difference between the two viruses was an insertion mutation in the inter-AUG region of the leader proteinase of FMDV-Mut. All cattle were infected by simulated-natural, aerosol inoculation. Both viruses were demonstrated to establish primary infection in the nasopharyngeal mucosa with subsequent dissemination to the lungs. Immunomicroscopic localization of FMDV antigens indicated that both viruses infected superficial epithelial cells of the nasopharynx and lungs. The critical differences between the two viruses were a more rapid establishment of infection by FMDV-WT and quantitatively greater virus loads in secretions and infected tissues compared to FMDV-Mut. The slower replicating FMDV-Mut established a subclinical infection that was limited to respiratory epithelial sites, whereas the faster replication of FMDV-WT facilitated establishment of viremia, systemic dissemination of infection, and clinical disease. The mutant FMDV was capable of achieving all the same early pathogenesis landmarks as FMDV-WT, but was unable to establish systemic infection. The precise mechanism of attenuation remains undetermined; but current data suggests that the impaired replication

  4. Anethum Graveolens Linn (Umbelliferae) Extract Attenuates Stress ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Anethum Graveolens Linn (Umbelliferae) Extract Attenuates Stress-induced Urinary Biochemical Changes and Improves Cognition in Scopolamineinduced Amnesic Rats. ... Conclusion: The aqueous extract of A. graveolens exhibited significant anti-stress, antioxidant and memory enhancing activities. The study provides a ...

  5. Attenuation measurements of ultrasound in a kaolin-water slurry. A linear dependence upon frequency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greenwood, M.S.; Mai, J.L.; Good, M.S.

    1993-01-01

    The attenuation of ultrasound through a kaolin-water slurry was measured for frequencies ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 MHz. The maximum concentration of the slurry was for a weight percentage of 44% (or a volume fraction of 0.24). The goal of these measurements was to assess the feasibility of using ultrasonic attenuation to determine the concentration of a slurry of known composition. The measurements were obtained by consecutively adding kaolin to the slurry and measuring the attenuation at each concentration. After reaching a maximum concentration a dilution technique was used, in which an amount of slurry was removed and water was added, to obtain the attenuation as a function of the concentration. The dilution technique was the more effective method to obtain calibration data. These measurements were carried out using two transducers, having a center frequency of 2.25 MHz, separated by 0.1016m (4.0 in.). The maximum attenuation measured in these experiments was about 100Np/m, but the experimental apparatus has the capability of measuring a larger attenuation if the distance between the two transducers is decreased. For a given frequency, the data show that ln V/V 0 depends linearly upon the volume fraction (V is the received voltage for the slurry and V 0 is that obtained for water). This indicated that each particle acts independently in attenuating ultrasound. 12 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs

  6. Peripheral δ-opioid receptors attenuate the exercise pressor reflex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leal, Anna K; Yamauchi, Katsuya; Kim, Joyce; Ruiz-Velasco, Victor; Kaufman, Marc P

    2013-10-15

    In rats with ligated femoral arteries, the exercise pressor reflex is exaggerated, an effect that is attenuated by stimulation of peripheral μ-opioid receptors on group IV metabosensitive afferents. In contrast, δ-opioid receptors are expressed mostly on group III mechanosensitive afferents, a finding that prompted us to determine whether stimulation of these opioid receptors could also attenuate the exaggerated exercise pressor reflex in "ligated" rats. We found femoral arterial injection of [D-Pen2,D-Pen5]enkephalin (DPDPE; 1.0 μg), a δ-opioid agonist, significantly attenuated the pressor and cardioaccelerator components of the exercise pressor reflex evoked by hindlimb muscle contraction in both rats with ligated and patent femoral arteries. DPDPE significantly decreased the pressor responses to muscle mechanoreflex activation, evoked by tendon stretch, in ligated rats only. DPDPE (1.0 μg) had no effect in either group on the pressor and cardioaccelerator responses to capsaicin (0.2 μg), which primarily stimulates group IV afferents. DPDPE (1.0 μg) had no effect on the pressor and cardioaccelerator responses to lactic acid (24 mM), which stimulates group III and IV afferents, in rats with patent femoral arteries but significantly decreased the pressor response in ligated rats. Western blots revealed the amount of protein comprising the δ-opioid receptor was greater in dorsal root ganglia innervating hindlimbs with ligated femoral arteries than in dorsal root ganglia innervating hindlimbs with patent femoral arteries. Our findings support the hypothesis that stimulation of δ-opioid receptors on group III afferents attenuated the exercise pressor reflex.

  7. Maternal Moderate Physical Training during Pregnancy Attenuates the Effects of a Low-Protein Diet on the Impaired Secretion of Insulin in Rats: Potential Role for Compensation of Insulin Resistance and Preventing Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carol Góis Leandro

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The effects of pregestational and gestational low-to-moderate physical training on insulin secretion in undernourished mothers were evaluated. Virgin female Wistar rats were divided into four groups as follows: control (C, n=5; trained (T, n=5; low-protein diet (LP, n=5; trained with a low-protein diet (T + LP, n=5. Trained rats ran on a treadmill over a period of 4 weeks before mate (5 days week−1 and 60 min day−1, at 65% of VO2max. At pregnancy, the intensity and duration of the exercise were reduced. Low-protein groups were provided with an 8% casein diet, and controls were provided with a 17% casein diet. At third day after delivery, mothers and pups were killed and islets were isolated by collagenase digestion of pancreas and incubated for a further 1 h with medium containing 5.6 or 16.7 mM glucose. T mothers showed increased insulin secretion by isolated islets incubated with 16.7 mM glucose, whereas LP group showed reduced secretion of insulin by isolated islets when compared with both C and LP + T groups. Physical training before and during pregnancy attenuated the effects of a low-protein diet on the secretion of insulin, suggesting a potential role for compensation of insulin resistance and preventing gestational diabetes mellitus.

  8. 2D Coda Attenuation Analysis of Active Sources: The Rockall Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sketsiou, P.; De Siena, L.; Asena, K.

    2017-12-01

    Passive seismic surveys are used for the evaluation of seismic attenuation parameters to characterise the Earth's lithosphere. Attenuation imaging is rarely applied to active datasets, attenuation being considered a hindrance than an efficient parameter when imaging reservoirs. In this study, we use one-component active source signals to study coda attenuation in the sub-basaltic North-Eastern Atlantic Margin, the Rockall Basin. Although this technique has been primarily used in volcanic and lithospheric environments, we apply it here to the oil and gas industrial setting. The Rockall Basin data consist of publicly available waveforms from the Oil and Gas Authority of the UK. The selected signals were band-passed filtered. A multiple scattering model was adopted, assuming dominant contributions from intrinsic absorption over scattering at large lapse times. The residual dependency of Q_c on the geometrical spreading factor was additionally investigated. The distribution of Q_c over a seismic line and its dependence on frequency were plotted, revealing high Q_c near a well in Rockall. The power law Q_c=Q_0(f/f_0)^\\gamma was used to express Q_c as a function of frequency.

  9. Attenuation correction in positron emission tomography: Quality control and performance evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nalis, J.; Courbon, F.; Brillouet, S.; Marre, D.; Serre, D.; Colin, V.; Caselles, O.; Flouzat, G.

    2007-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of the Computed Tomography based Attenuation Correction (CTAC) for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) data. Attenuation maps containing linear attenuation coefficients at 511 keV (LAC 511 keV ) are calculated by trilinear conversion of Hounsfield Units (HU) obtained from CT slices after matrix size-reduction and Gaussian filtering. Our work focusses on this trilinear conversion. Materials and methods: CT slices of an electron density phantom. composed of 17 cylindrical inserts made of different tissue-equivalent materials, were acquired using a Discovery ST4 PET-CT. Data were processed with a customized version of CT quality control software, giving automatically the experimental conversion function: LAC 511 keV =f(HU). Furthermore, data from patient datasets were assessed using both smoothed CT slices and attenuation maps. Results: LAC 511 keV extracted from phantom data are in good correlation with the expected theoretical values, except for the standard 10 mm diameter dense bone insert, where the obtained CTAC values are underestimated, Assuming a sample size issue, similar acquisitions were performed with a special 30 mm-diameter dense bone insert, confirming the underestimation as a consequence of the sample size. (authors)

  10. Attenuation of Gamma Rays by Concrete . Lead Slag Composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ismail, I.M.; Sweelam, M.H.; Zaghloul, Y.R.; Aly, H.F.

    2008-01-01

    Using of wastes and industrial by-products as concrete aggregate to be used as structural and radiation shielded material has increased in the recent years. Concrete was mixed with different amounts of lead slag extracted from recycling of the spent automotive batteries as fine aggregates. The lead slag was used as partial replacement of sand in the studied composites. The concrete composites obtained were characterized in terms of density, water absorption, porosity, compressive strength and attenuation of γ- rays with different energies. The attenuation coefficient and the half value thickness of the different matrices were calculated and discussed

  11. Amplification and Attenuation across USArray using Ambient Noise Wavefront Tracking

    KAUST Repository

    Bowden, Daniel C.

    2017-11-15

    As seismic travel-time tomography continues to be refined using data from the vast USArray dataset, it is advantageous to also exploit the amplitude information carried by seismic waves. We use ambient noise cross correlation to make observations of surface-wave amplification and attenuation at shorter periods (8 – 32 seconds) than can be observed with only traditional teleseismic earthquake sources. We show that the wavefront tracking approach of [Lin et al., 2012a] can be successfully applied to ambient noise correlations, yielding results quite similar to those from earthquake observations at periods of overlap. This consistency indicates that the wavefront tracking approach is viable for use with ambient noise correlations, despite concerns of the inhomogeneous and unknown distribution of noise sources. The resulting amplification and attenuation maps correlate well with known tectonic and crustal structure; at the shortest periods, our amplification and attenuation maps correlate well with surface geology and known sedimentary basins, while our longest period amplitudes are controlled by crustal thickness and begin to probe upper mantle materials. These amplification and attenuation observations are sensitive to crustal materials in different ways than travel-time observations and may be used to better constrain temperature or density variations. We also value them as an independent means of describing the lateral variability of observed Rayleigh-wave amplitudes without the need for 3D tomographic inversions.

  12. S-wave attenuation structure beneath the northern Izu-Bonin arc

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Tsutomu; Obana, Koichiro; Kodaira, Shuichi

    2016-04-01

    To understand temperature structure or magma distribution in the crust and uppermost mantle, it is essential to know their attenuation structure. This study estimated the 3-D S-wave attenuation structure in the crust and uppermost mantle at the northern Izu-Bonin arc, taking into account the apparent attenuation due to multiple forward scattering. In the uppermost mantle, two areas of high seismic attenuation (high Q -1) imaged beneath the volcanic front were mostly colocated with low-velocity anomalies. This coincidence suggests that these high- Q -1 areas in low-velocity zones are the most likely candidates for high-temperature regions beneath volcanoes. The distribution of random inhomogeneities indicated the presence of three anomalies beneath the volcanic front: Two were in high- Q -1 areas but the third was in a moderate- Q -1 area, indicating a low correlation between random inhomogeneities and Q -1. All three anomalies of random inhomogeneities were rich in short-wavelength spectra. The most probable interpretation of such spectra is the presence of volcanic rock, which would be related to accumulated magma intrusion during episodes of volcanic activity. Therefore, the different distributions of Q -1 and random inhomogeneities imply that the positions of hot regions in the uppermost mantle beneath this arc have changed temporally; therefore, they may provide important constraints on the evolutionary processes of arc crust and volcanoes.

  13. Outdoor FSO Communications Under Fog: Attenuation Modeling and Performance Evaluation

    KAUST Repository

    Esmail, Maged Abdullah

    2016-07-18

    Fog is considered to be a primary challenge for free space optics (FSO) systems. It may cause attenuation that is up to hundreds of decibels per kilometer. Hence, accurate modeling of fog attenuation will help telecommunication operators to engineer and appropriately manage their networks. In this paper, we examine fog measurement data coming from several locations in Europe and the United States and derive a unified channel attenuation model. Compared with existing attenuation models, our proposed model achieves a minimum of 9 dB, which is lower than the average root-mean-square error (RMSE). Moreover, we have investigated the statistical behavior of the channel and developed a probabilistic model under stochastic fog conditions. Furthermore, we studied the performance of the FSO system addressing various performance metrics, including signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), bit-error rate (BER), and channel capacity. Our results show that in communication environments with frequent fog, FSO is typically a short-range data transmission technology. Therefore, FSO will have its preferred market segment in future wireless fifth-generation/sixth-generation (5G/6G) networks having cell sizes that are lower than a 1-km diameter. Moreover, the results of our modeling and analysis can be applied in determining the switching/thresholding conditions in highly reliable hybrid FSO/radio-frequency (RF) networks.

  14. Associations between positive and negative affect and 12-month physical disorders in a national sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiser, Eric B

    2012-06-01

    Associations between positive and negative affect and a range of 12-month physical disorders were investigated in the Midlife Development in the United States Survey, a nationally representative sample of 3,032 adults ages 25-74. These associations were examined, controlling for relevant sociodemographic and psychiatric covariates. High positive affect was associated with decreased risk of physical disorders, whereas high negative affect was associated with increased risk. However, associations between positive affect and physical disorders were partially attenuated following adjustment for concurrent negative affect. Additionally, high affect balance was associated with decreased risk of physical disorders before and after adjustments. These findings underscore the relevance of affective disposition in health status, suggesting that both positive and negative affect may serve as viable health risk parameters.

  15. Prior DNA vaccination does not interfere with the live-attenuated measles vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Premenko-Lanier, Mary; Rota, Paul; Rhodes, Gary; Bellini, William; McChesney, Michael

    2004-01-26

    The currently used live-attenuated measles vaccine is very effective although maternal antibody prevents its administration prior to 6 months of age. We are investigating the ability of a DNA vaccine encoding the measles viral hemagglutinin, fusion and nucleoprotein to protect newborn infants from measles. Here, we show that a measles DNA vaccine protects juvenile macaques from pathogenic measles virus challenge and that macaques primed and boosted with this DNA vaccine have anemnestic antibody and cell-mediated responses after vaccination with a live-attenuated canine distemper-measles vaccine. Therefore, this DNA vaccine administered to newborn infants may not hinder the subsequent use of live-attenuated measles vaccine.

  16. Attenuation correction in pulmonary and myocardial single photon emission computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Almquist, H

    2000-01-01

    The objective was to develop and validate methods for single photon emission computed tomography, SPECT, allowing quantitative physiologic and diagnostic studies of lung and heart. A method for correction of variable attenuation in SPECT, based on transmission measurements before administration of an isotope to the subject, was developed and evaluated. A protocol based upon geometrically well defined phantoms was developed. In a mosaic pattern phantom count rates were corrected from 39-43% to 101-110% of reference. In healthy subjects non-gravitational pulmonary perfusion gradients observed without attenuation correctionwere artefacts caused by attenuation. Pulmonary density in centre of right lung, obtained from the transmission measurement, was 0.28 {+-} 0.03 g/ml in normal subjects. Mean density was lower in large lungs compared to smaller ones. We also showed that regional ventilation/perfusion ratios could be measured with SPECT, using the readily available tracer {sup 133}Xe. Because of the low energy of {sup 133}Xe this relies heavily upon attenuation correction. A commercially available system for attenuation correction with simultaneous emission and transmission, considered to improve myocardial SPECT, performed erroneously. This could lead to clinical misjudgement. We considered that manufacturer-independent pre-clinical tests are required. In a test of two other commercial systems, based on different principles, an adapted variant of our initial protocol was proven useful. Only one of the systems provided correct emission count rates independently on phantom configuration. Errors in the other system were related to inadequate compensation of the influence of emission activity on the transmission study.

  17. Transdiaphragmatic Approach to Attenuate Porto-Azygos Shunts Inserting in the Thorax.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Or, Matan; Kitshoff, Adriaan; Devriendt, Nausikaa; De Ridder, Marianne; Quist-Rybachuk, Galena; de Rooster, Hilde

    2016-11-01

    To describe the surgical technique and document the application of a transdiaphragmatic approach to attenuate porto-azygos shunts inserting in the thoracic section of the azygos vein. Cadaveric study and prospective case series. Canine cadavers (n=6) and client-owned dogs with porto-azygos shunts inserting in the thoracic section of the azygos vein (n=9). In the cadavers, the azygos vein was filled with aqueous latex. Landmarks were established for creating a safe transdiaphragmatic approach to the caudal intrathoracic portion of the azygos vein. In the clinical cases, porto-azygos communication was diagnosed by trans-splenic portal scintigraphy. All shunts were attenuated close to their insertion site via ventral midline celiotomy and a transdiaphragmatic approach to the shunt. Perioperative complications were recorded. A 3-5 cm incision, 0.5-1 cm ventral and lateral to the level of the aortic hiatus, was made in the pars lumbalis part of the diaphragm. Stay sutures at both sides of the diaphragmatic incision were placed to open up the incision and a retractor was used to push the esophagus away from the aorta. Intrathoracic insertion of the shunt was confirmed intraoperative. Exposure of the shunt insertion site at the azygos vein was excellent in all clinical cases. No intraoperative or postoperative complications were encountered. If thoracic attenuation of a porto-azygos shunt is considered, a transdiaphragmatic approach exposes the insertion site for shunt attenuation. This approach is straightforward, without unnecessary abdominal organ manipulation, and since attenuates at the insertion, avoids missing additional contributing branches. © Copyright 2016 by The American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

  18. Attenuation correction in pulmonary and myocardial single photon emission computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almquist, H.

    2000-01-01

    The objective was to develop and validate methods for single photon emission computed tomography, SPECT, allowing quantitative physiologic and diagnostic studies of lung and heart. A method for correction of variable attenuation in SPECT, based on transmission measurements before administration of an isotope to the subject, was developed and evaluated. A protocol based upon geometrically well defined phantoms was developed. In a mosaic pattern phantom count rates were corrected from 39-43% to 101-110% of reference. In healthy subjects non-gravitational pulmonary perfusion gradients observed without attenuation correction were artefacts caused by attenuation. Pulmonary density in centre of right lung, obtained from the transmission measurement, was 0.28 ± 0.03 g/ml in normal subjects. Mean density was lower in large lungs compared to smaller ones. We also showed that regional ventilation/perfusion ratios could be measured with SPECT, using the readily available tracer 133 Xe. Because of the low energy of 133 Xe this relies heavily upon attenuation correction. A commercially available system for attenuation correction with simultaneous emission and transmission, considered to improve myocardial SPECT, performed erroneously. This could lead to clinical misjudgement. We considered that manufacturer-independent pre-clinical tests are required. In a test of two other commercial systems, based on different principles, an adapted variant of our initial protocol was proven useful. Only one of the systems provided correct emission count rates independently on phantom configuration. Errors in the other system were related to inadequate compensation of the influence of emission activity on the transmission study

  19. The VANDELS survey: dust attenuation in star-forming galaxies at z = 3-4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullen, F.; McLure, R. J.; Khochfar, S.; Dunlop, J. S.; Dalla Vecchia, C.; Carnall, A. C.; Bourne, N.; Castellano, M.; Cimatti, A.; Cirasuolo, M.; Elbaz, D.; Fynbo, J. P. U.; Garilli, B.; Koekemoer, A.; Marchi, F.; Pentericci, L.; Talia, M.; Zamorani, G.

    2018-05-01

    We present the results of a new study of dust attenuation at redshifts 3 Motivated by results from the First Billion Years (FiBY) simulation project, we argue that the intrinsic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of star-forming galaxies at these redshifts have a self-similar shape across the mass range 8.2 ≤ log (M⋆/M⊙) ≤ 10.6 probed by our sample. Using FiBY data, we construct a set of intrinsic SED templates which incorporate both detailed star formation and chemical abundance histories, and a variety of stellar population synthesis (SPS) model assumptions. With this set of intrinsic SEDs, we present a novel approach for directly recovering the shape and normalization of the dust attenuation curve. We find, across all of the intrinsic templates considered, that the average attenuation curve for star-forming galaxies at z ≃ 3.5 is similar in shape to the commonly adopted Calzetti starburst law, with an average total-to-selective attenuation ratio of RV = 4.18 ± 0.29. In contrast, we find that an average attenuation curve as steep as the SMC extinction law is strongly disfavoured. We show that the optical attenuation (AV) versus stellar mass (M⋆) relation predicted using our method is consistent with recent ALMA observations of galaxies at 2 < z < 3 in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), as well as empirical AV - M⋆ relations predicted by a Calzetti-like law. In fact, our results, combined with other literature data, suggest that the AV-M⋆ relation does not evolve over the redshift range 0 < z < 5, at least for galaxies with log(M⋆/M⊙) ≳ 9.5. Finally, we present tentative evidence which suggests that the attenuation curve may become steeper at lower masses log(M⋆/M⊙) ≲ 9.0.

  20. Physical modeling and analysis of P-wave attenuation anisotropy in transversely isotropic media

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Zhu, Y.; Tsvankin, I.; Dewangan, P.; Van Wijk, K.

    here H20849Figures 1 and 2aH20850 was to verify the accuracy of the parameter-esti- mation results obtained by Dewangan et al. H208492006H20850. The P-wave source H20849a flat-faced, cylindrical, piezoelectric-contact transducerH20850 was fixed... are assumed to be constant. Receivers 10.8 cm 60 cm Source 70? symmetry axis Figure 1. Physical model of a TI layer with the symmetry axis tilted at 70? H20849from Dewangan et al., 2006H20850. The transmitted wavefield is excited by an ultrasonic contact...

  1. Beam hardening: Analytical considerations of the effective attenuation coefficient of x-ray tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alles, J.; Mudde, R. F.

    2007-01-01

    Polychromatic x-ray beams traveling though material are prone to beam hardening, i.e., the high energy part of the incident spectrum gets over represented when traveling farther into the material. This study discusses the concept of a mean attenuation coefficient in a formal way. The total energy fluence is one-to-one related to the traveled distance in case of a polychromatic beam moving through a given, inhomogeneous material. On the basis of this one-to-one relation, it is useful to define a mean attenuation coefficient and study its decrease with depth. Our results are based on a novel parametrization of the energy dependence of the attenuation coefficient that allows for closed form evaluation of certain spectral integrals. This approach underpins the ad hoc semianalytical expressions given in the literature. An analytical model for the average attenuation coefficient is proposed that uses a simple fit of the attenuation coefficient as a function of the photon energy as input. It is shown that a simple extension of this model gives a rather good description of beam hardening for x-rays traveling through water

  2. Childhood Socioeconomic Position and Objectively Measured Physical Capability Levels in Adulthood: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Birnie, Kate; Cooper, Rachel; Martin, Richard M

    2011-01-01

    for 5s of 1.26 (1.02, 1.55). Adjustment for the potential mediating factors, adult SEP and body size attenuated associations greatly. However, despite this attenuation, for walking speed and chair rise time, there was still evidence of moderate associations. CONCLUSIONS: Policies targeting socioeconomic...... achieved in early adulthood, thereby affecting levels in later adulthood. We have undertaken a systematic review with meta-analyses to test the hypothesis that adverse childhood SEP is associated with lower levels of objectively measured physical capability in adulthood. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Relevant...... inequalities in childhood may have additional benefits in promoting the maintenance of independence in later life....

  3. Pioglitazone attenuates the opioid withdrawal and vulnerability to relapse to heroin seeking in rodents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Guglielmo, Giordano; Kallupi, Marsida; Scuppa, Giulia; Demopulos, Gregory; Gaitanaris, George; Ciccocioppo, Roberto

    2017-01-01

    Relapse to opioids is often driven by the avoidance of the aversive states of opioid withdrawal. We recently demonstrated that activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) by pioglitazone reduces the motivation for heroin and attenuates its rewarding properties. However, the role of PPARγ in withdrawal and other forms of relapse to heroin is unknown. To further address this issue, we investigated the role of PPARγ on the development and expression of morphine withdrawal in mice and the effect of pioglitazone on several forms of heroin relapse in rats. We induced physical dependence to morphine in mice by injecting morphine twice daily for 6 days. Withdrawal syndrome was precipitated on day 6 with an injection of naloxone. In addition, different groups of rats were trained to self-administer heroin and, after the extinction, the relapse was elicited by cues, priming, or stress. The effect of different doses of pioglitazone was tested on these different paradigms. Data show that chronic and acute administration of pioglitazone attenuates morphine withdrawal symptoms, and these effects are mediated by activation of PPARγ receptors. Activation of PPARγ by pioglitazone also abolishes yohimbine-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking and reduces heroin-induced reinstatement, while it does not affect cue-induced relapse. These findings provide new insights on the role of PPARγ on opioid dependence and suggest that pioglitazone may be useful for the treatment of opioid withdrawal in opioid-addicted individuals.

  4. Attenuation of mining-derived pollutants in the hyporheic zone. A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gandy, C.J.; Jarvis, A.P.; Smith, J.W.N.

    2007-01-01

    Mine water pollution is a major cause of surface- and groundwater pollution in former mining districts throughout Europe. It is a potential barrier to achieving good status water bodies, which is a requirement of the EU Water Framework Directive. In the UK, a concerted effort has been made over the last decade or so to address the scientific and practical challenges relating to the remediation of mine water pollution. However, most of this work has focused on remediation of point sources of pollution (typically arising from abandoned mines and shafts), while the behaviour of mine water at the groundwater-surface water interface (the 'hyporheic zone') has received far less attention in relevant scientific and engineering literature. The extent of mine water pollution and capacity for its attenuation at the hyporheic zone has not been well quantified while, furthermore, the complex chemical and microbial processes occurring there (specifically with reference to mining-derived pollutants) have not been investigated in any depth. The absence of such data may relate, in a large part, to the difficulty in physically measuring volumes and concentrations associated with these river inputs/exports. A far greater body of literature addresses biogeochemical processes at the hyporheic zone (especially relating to manganese), albeit many such articles relate to aqueous metal dynamics in general, rather than mine water specifically. This paper presents a review of the natural attenuation processes that may limit the movement and availability of mining-derived pollutants at the groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) interface, and specifically within the hyporheic zone. A substantial part focuses on precipitation and adsorption processes at the hyporheic zone, as well as discussing the role of microbial processes in governing metal ion mobility. (author)

  5. Attenuation of mining-derived pollutants in the hyporheic zone. A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gandy, C.J.; Jarvis, A.P. [Hydrogeochemical Engineering Research and Outreach (HERO), Institute for Research on Environment and Sustainability, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU (United Kingdom); Smith, J.W.N. [Environment Agency, Science Group, Solihull, West Midlands, B92 7HX (United Kingdom); Catchment Science Centre, Sheffield University, Kroto Research Institute, Sheffield, S3 7HQ (United Kingdom)

    2007-02-15

    Mine water pollution is a major cause of surface- and groundwater pollution in former mining districts throughout Europe. It is a potential barrier to achieving good status water bodies, which is a requirement of the EU Water Framework Directive. In the UK, a concerted effort has been made over the last decade or so to address the scientific and practical challenges relating to the remediation of mine water pollution. However, most of this work has focused on remediation of point sources of pollution (typically arising from abandoned mines and shafts), while the behaviour of mine water at the groundwater-surface water interface (the 'hyporheic zone') has received far less attention in relevant scientific and engineering literature. The extent of mine water pollution and capacity for its attenuation at the hyporheic zone has not been well quantified while, furthermore, the complex chemical and microbial processes occurring there (specifically with reference to mining-derived pollutants) have not been investigated in any depth. The absence of such data may relate, in a large part, to the difficulty in physically measuring volumes and concentrations associated with these river inputs/exports. A far greater body of literature addresses biogeochemical processes at the hyporheic zone (especially relating to manganese), albeit many such articles relate to aqueous metal dynamics in general, rather than mine water specifically. This paper presents a review of the natural attenuation processes that may limit the movement and availability of mining-derived pollutants at the groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) interface, and specifically within the hyporheic zone. A substantial part focuses on precipitation and adsorption processes at the hyporheic zone, as well as discussing the role of microbial processes in governing metal ion mobility. (author)

  6. Temperature Measurements of the Low-Attenuation Radiographic Ice Ball During CT-Guided Renal Cryoablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Permpongkosol, Sompol; Link, Richard E.; Kavoussi, Louis R.; Solomon, Stephen B.

    2008-01-01

    During renal cryoablation a low-attenuation area on CT develops around the cryoprobe. Knowledge of the temperature of the growing low-attenuation area can guide therapy and ensure lethal temperatures. Herein, we report thermocouple results and correlating CT images during the development of the low-attenuation 'radiographic ice ball.' Five patients who underwent percutaneous CT-guided renal cryoablation were identified who had thermocouples inserted and serial intraprocedural CT images that included images with thermocouple measurements of 0 o and sub-0 o C. Thermocouples had been percutaneously placed just beyond the edge of the tumors either to ensure adequate cooling or to ensure safety to adjacent critical structures. Renal cryotherapy under CT guidance produced a growing low-attenuation area corresponding to the radiographic ice ball. When the thermocouple measured 0 o C, CT images showed the thermocouple tip at the edge of the low-attenuation ice ball. At lower temperatures the tip was within the low-attenuation ice ball. We conclude that knowledge of the temperature at the ice ball edge during cryoablation can be used to predict the extent of tissue necrosis and thus provide an estimate of cryotherapy effectiveness during the procedure. Further work is necessary to establish a firm relationship between the thermal conditions and the zone of damage

  7. Medroxyprogesterone acetate attenuates estrogen-induced nitric oxide production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oishi, Akira; Ohmichi, Masahide; Takahashi, Kazuhiro; Takahashi, Toshifumi; Mori-Abe, Akiko; Kawagoe, Jun; Otsu, Reiko; Mochizuki, Yoshiko; Inaba, Noriyuki; Kurachi, Hirohisa

    2004-01-01

    We report the novel observation that medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) attenuates the induction by 17β estradiol (E2) of both nitric oxide (NO) production and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Although MPA had no effect on basal NO production or basal eNOS phosphorylation or activity, it attenuated the E2-induced NO production and eNOS phosphorylation and activity. Moreover, we examined the mechanism by which MPA attenuated the E2-induced NO production and eNOS phosphorylation. MPA attenuated the E2-induced phosphorylation of Akt, a kinase that phosphorylates eNOS. Treatment with pure progesterone receptor (PR) antagonist RU486 completely abolished the inhibitory effect of MPA on E2-induced Akt phosphorylation and eNOS phosphorylation. In addition, the effects of actinomycin D were tested to rule out the influence of genomic events mediated by nuclear PRs. Actinomycin D did not affect the inhibitory effect of MPA on E2-induced Akt phosphorylation. Furthermore, the potential roles of PRA and PRB were evaluated. In COS cells transfected with either PRA or PRB, MPA attenuated E2-induced Akt phosphorylation. These results indicate that MPA attenuated E2-induced NO production via an Akt cascade through PRA or PRB in a non-genomic manner

  8. Natural attenuation: A feasible approach to remediation of ground water pollution at landfills?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christensen, T.H.; Bjerg, P.L.; Kjeldsen, P.

    2000-12-31

    Remediation of ground water pollution at old landfills with no engineered leachate collection system is a demanding and costly operation. It requires control of the landfill body, since the majority of the pollutants are still present in the landfilled waste for decades after the site has been closed. However, natural attenuation of the plume without removing the source is an attractive approach to managing leachate plumes. Natural attenuation has been implemented for petroleum hydrocarbon plumes and for chlorinated solvent plumes, primarily in the US. Natural attenuation has not yet gained a foothold with respect to leachate plumes, however. Based on the experiences gained from 10 years of research on two Danish landfills, it is suggested that natural attenuation is a feasible approach but is more complicated and demanding than in the case of petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvent.

  9. A Finite Element Theory for Predicting the Attenuation of Extended-Reacting Liners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, W. R.; Jones, M. G.

    2009-01-01

    A non-modal finite element theory for predicting the attenuation of an extended-reacting liner containing a porous facesheet and located in a no-flow duct is presented. The mathematical approach is to solve separate wave equations in the liner and duct airway and to couple these two solutions by invoking kinematic constraints at the facesheet that are consistent with a continuum theory of fluid motion. Given the liner intrinsic properties, a weak Galerkin finite element formulation with cubic polynomial basis functions is used as the basis for generating a discrete system of acoustic equations that are solved to obtain the coupled acoustic field. A state-of-the-art, asymmetric, parallel, sparse equation solver is implemented that allows tens of thousands of grid points to be analyzed. A grid refinement study is presented to show that the predicted attenuation converges. Excellent comparison of the numerically predicted attenuation to that of a mode theory (using a Haynes 25 metal foam liner) is used to validate the computational approach. Simulations are also presented for fifteen porous plate, extended-reacting liners. The construction of some of the porous plate liners suggest that they should behave as resonant liners while the construction of others suggest that they should behave as broadband attenuators. In each case the finite element theory is observed to predict the proper attenuation trend.

  10. THE SCENARIOS APPROACH TO ATTENUATION-BASED REMEDIES FOR INORGANIC AND RADIONUCLIDE CONTAMINANTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vangelas, K.; Rysz, M.; Truex, M.; Brady, P.; Newell, C.; Denham, M.

    2011-08-04

    Guidance materials based on use of conceptual model scenarios were developed to assist evaluation and implementation of attenuation-based remedies for groundwater and vadose zones contaminated with inorganic and radionuclide contaminants. The Scenarios approach is intended to complement the comprehensive information provided in the US EPA's Technical Protocol for Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) of Inorganic Contaminants by providing additional information on site conceptual models and extending the evaluation to consideration of Enhanced Attenuation approaches. The conceptual models incorporate the notion of reactive facies, defined as units with hydrogeochemical properties that are different from surrounding units and that react with contaminants in distinct ways. The conceptual models also incorporate consideration of biogeochemical gradients, defined as boundaries between different geochemical conditions that have been induced by waste disposal or other natural phenomena. Gradients can change over time when geochemical conditions from one area migrate into another, potentially affecting contaminant mobility. A recognition of gradients allows the attenuation-affecting conditions of a site to be projected into the future. The Scenarios approach provides a stepwise process to identify an appropriate category of conceptual model and refine it for a specific site. Scenario materials provide links to pertinent sections in the EPA technical protocol and present information about contaminant mobility and important controlling mechanism for attenuation-based remedies based on the categories of conceptual models.

  11. Heat-accelerated radioinactivation of attenuated poliovirus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dugan, V.L.; Trujillo, R.

    1975-01-01

    Attenuated poliovirus is inactivated in a synergistic manner when exposed simultaneously to heat and ionizing radiation. The synergistic response is observed in both the thermally labile and stable forms of the virus. A three-term kinetic model may be used to describe the inactivation response of the virus in a thermal and/or ionizing radiation environment. (orig.) [de

  12. Enhancement of the safety of live influenza vaccine by attenuating mutations from cold-adapted hemagglutinin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Yoon Jae; Jang, Yo Han; Kim, Paul; Lee, Yun Ha; Lee, Young Jae; Byun, Young Ho; Lee, Kwang-Hee; Kim, Kyusik; Seong, Baik Lin

    2016-01-01

    In our previous study, X-31ca-based H5N1 LAIVs, in particular, became more virulent in mice than the X-31ca MDV, possibly by the introduction of the surface antigens of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus, implying that additional attenuation is needed in this cases to increase the safety level of the vaccine. In this report we suggest an approach to further increase the safety of LAIV through additional cold-adapted mutations in the hemagglutinin. The cold-adaptation of X-31 virus resulted in four amino acid mutations in the HA. We generated a panel of 7:1 reassortant viruses each carrying the hemagglutinins with individual single amino acid mutations. We examined their phenotypes and found a major attenuating mutation, N81K. This attenuation marker conferred additional temperature-sensitive and attenuation phenotype to the LAIV. Our data indicate that the cold-adapted mutation in the HA confers additional attenuation to the LAIV strain, without compromising its productivity and immune response. - Highlights: • Cold-adaptation process induced four amino acid mutations in the HA of X-31 virus. • The four mutations in the HA also contributed to attenuation of the X-31ca virus • N81K mutation was the most significant marker for the attenuation of X-31ca virus. • Introduction of N81K mutation into H3N2 LAIV further attenuated the vaccine. • This approach provides a useful guideline for enhancing the safety of the LAIVs.

  13. Enhancement of the safety of live influenza vaccine by attenuating mutations from cold-adapted hemagglutinin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Yoon Jae [Graduate Program in Biomaterials Science and Engineering, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Vaccine Translational Research Center, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Jang, Yo Han [Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Paul; Lee, Yun Ha; Lee, Young Jae [Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Vaccine Translational Research Center, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Byun, Young Ho; Lee, Kwang-Hee; Kim, Kyusik [Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seong, Baik Lin, E-mail: blseong@yonsei.ac.kr [Graduate Program in Biomaterials Science and Engineering, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Vaccine Translational Research Center, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-04-15

    In our previous study, X-31ca-based H5N1 LAIVs, in particular, became more virulent in mice than the X-31ca MDV, possibly by the introduction of the surface antigens of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus, implying that additional attenuation is needed in this cases to increase the safety level of the vaccine. In this report we suggest an approach to further increase the safety of LAIV through additional cold-adapted mutations in the hemagglutinin. The cold-adaptation of X-31 virus resulted in four amino acid mutations in the HA. We generated a panel of 7:1 reassortant viruses each carrying the hemagglutinins with individual single amino acid mutations. We examined their phenotypes and found a major attenuating mutation, N81K. This attenuation marker conferred additional temperature-sensitive and attenuation phenotype to the LAIV. Our data indicate that the cold-adapted mutation in the HA confers additional attenuation to the LAIV strain, without compromising its productivity and immune response. - Highlights: • Cold-adaptation process induced four amino acid mutations in the HA of X-31 virus. • The four mutations in the HA also contributed to attenuation of the X-31ca virus • N81K mutation was the most significant marker for the attenuation of X-31ca virus. • Introduction of N81K mutation into H3N2 LAIV further attenuated the vaccine. • This approach provides a useful guideline for enhancing the safety of the LAIVs.

  14. Role of translation in the UTP-modulated attenuation at the pyrBI operon of Escherichia coli

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clemmesen, Kåre; Bonekamp, Fons; Karlström, Olle

    1985-01-01

    B leader peptide. In addition a gene fusion encoding a hybrid protein with -galactosidase activity was formed between the pyrB start and the rest of lacZ. This gene fusion is expressed from the lac promoter and the transcript is subject to facultative termination at the pyrBI attenuator. Different variants...... of the lacZ start were used that either contained a stop codon or directed the translation toward the attenuator in any of the alternative reading frames. The following results were obtained. No significant read-through of transcription over the pyrB attenuator was seen when the leader translation ended 49...... nucleotide residues, or more, upstream of the attenuator symmetry, but a UTP-modulated attenuation was established if the leader translation was allowed to proceed across the attenuator as for the putative leader peptide or in a frame-shifted version. The regulation, however, was not as great...

  15. Tamoxifen attenuates development of lithium-induced nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in rats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tingskov, Stine Julie; Hu, Shan; Frøkiær, Jorgen

    2018-01-01

    of aquaporin-2 (AQP2), which are essential for water reabsorption of tubular fluid in the collecting duct. Sex hormones have previously been shown to affect the regulation of AQP2, so we tested whether tamoxifen (TAM), a selective estrogen receptor modulator, would attenuate lithium-induced alterations...... on renal water homeostasis. Rats were treated for 14 days with lithium and TAM treatment was initiated one week after onset of lithium administration. Lithium treatment resulted in severe polyuria and reduced AQP2 expression, which was ameliorated by TAM. Consistent with this, TAM attenuated downregulation...... of AQP2 and increased phosphorylation of the cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB), which induced AQP2 expression, in freshly isolated inner medullary collecting duct suspension prepared from lithium-treated rats. In conclusion, TAM attenuated dose-dependently polyuria, impaired urine...

  16. Antioxidant treatment attenuates lactate production in diabetic nephropathy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laustsen, Christoffer; Nielsen, Per Mose; Stokholm Nørlinger, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    -IDEAL spiral sequence. Untreated diabetic rats showed increased renal lactate production compared with that shown by the controls. However, chronic TEMPOL treatment significantly attenuated diabetes-induced lactate production. No significant effects of diabetes or TEMPOL were observed on [13C]alanine levels......, indicating an intact glucose-alanine cycle, or [13C]bicarbonate, indicating normal flux through the Krebs cycle. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that diabetes-induced pseudohypoxia, as indicated by an increased lactate-to-pyruvate ratio, is significantly attenuated by antioxidant treatment......The early progression of diabetic nephropathy is notoriously difficult to detect and quantify before the occurrence of substantial histological damage. Recently, hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate has demonstrated increased lactate production in the kidney early after the onset of diabetes, implying...

  17. Vision 20/20: Magnetic resonance imaging-guided attenuation correction in PET/MRI: Challenges, solutions, and opportunities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mehranian, Abolfazl; Arabi, Hossein [Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva CH-1211 (Switzerland); Zaidi, Habib, E-mail: habib.zaidi@hcuge.ch [Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva CH-1211 (Switzerland); Geneva Neuroscience Centre, University of Geneva, Geneva CH-1205 (Switzerland); Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University of Groningen, Groningen 9700 RB (Netherlands)

    2016-03-15

    Attenuation correction is an essential component of the long chain of data correction techniques required to achieve the full potential of quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. The development of combined PET/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems mandated the widespread interest in developing novel strategies for deriving accurate attenuation maps with the aim to improve the quantitative accuracy of these emerging hybrid imaging systems. The attenuation map in PET/MRI should ideally be derived from anatomical MR images; however, MRI intensities reflect proton density and relaxation time properties of biological tissues rather than their electron density and photon attenuation properties. Therefore, in contrast to PET/computed tomography, there is a lack of standardized global mapping between the intensities of MRI signal and linear attenuation coefficients at 511 keV. Moreover, in standard MRI sequences, bones and lung tissues do not produce measurable signals owing to their low proton density and short transverse relaxation times. MR images are also inevitably subject to artifacts that degrade their quality, thus compromising their applicability for the task of attenuation correction in PET/MRI. MRI-guided attenuation correction strategies can be classified in three broad categories: (i) segmentation-based approaches, (ii) atlas-registration and machine learning methods, and (iii) emission/transmission-based approaches. This paper summarizes past and current state-of-the-art developments and latest advances in PET/MRI attenuation correction. The advantages and drawbacks of each approach for addressing the challenges of MR-based attenuation correction are comprehensively described. The opportunities brought by both MRI and PET imaging modalities for deriving accurate attenuation maps and improving PET quantification will be elaborated. Future prospects and potential clinical applications of these techniques and their integration in commercial

  18. Immunity to Visceral Leishmaniasis Using Genetically Defined Live-Attenuated Parasites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angamuthu Selvapandiyan

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Leishmaniasis is a protozoan parasitic disease endemic to the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with three major clinical forms, self-healing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL, mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL, and visceral leishmaniasis (VL. Drug treatments are expensive and often result in the development of drug resistance. No vaccine is available against leishmaniasis. Subunit Leishmania vaccine immunization in animal models has shown some efficacy but little or none in humans. However, individuals who recover from natural infection are protected from reinfection and develop life-long protection, suggesting that infection may be a prerequisite for immunological memory. Thus, genetically altered live-attenuated parasites with controlled infectivity could achieve such memory. In this paper, we discuss development and characteristics of genetically altered, live-attenuated Leishmania donovani parasites and their possible use as vaccine candidates against VL. In addition, we discuss the challenges and other considerations in the use of live-attenuated parasites.

  19. ASSESSING AEROBIC NATURAL ATTENUATION OF TRICHLOROETHENE AT FOUR DOE SITES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koelsch, Michael C.; Starr, Robert C.; Sorenson, Kent S. Jr.

    2005-01-01

    A 3-year Department of Energy Environmental Science Management Program (EMSP) project is currently investigating natural attenuation of trichloroethane (TCE) in aerobic groundwater. This presentation summarizes the results of a screening process to identify TCE plumes at DOE facilities that are suitable for assessing the rate of TCE cometabolism under aerobic conditions. In order to estimate aerobic degradation rates, plumes had to meet the following criteria: TCE must be present in aerobic groundwater, a conservative co-contaminant must be present and have approximately the same source as TCE, and the groundwater velocity must be known. A total of 127 TCE plumes were considered across 24 DOE sites. The four sites retained for the assessment were: (1) Brookhaven National Laboratory, OU III; (2) Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Northwest Plume; (3) Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Industrialized Area--Southwest Plume and 903 Pad South Plume; and (4) Savannah River Site, A/M Area Plume. For each of these sites, a co-contaminant derived from the same source area as TCE was used as a nonbiodegrading tracer. The tracer determined the extent to which concentration decreases in the plume can be accounted for solely by abiotic processes such as dispersion and dilution. Any concentration decreases not accounted for by these processes must be explained by some other natural attenuation mechanism. Thus, ''half-lives'' presented herein are in addition to attenuation that occurs due to hydrologic mechanisms. This ''tracer-corrected method'' has previously been used at the DOE's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in conjunction with other techniques to document the occurrence of intrinsic aerobic cometabolism. Application of this method to other DOE sites is the first step to determining whether this might be a significant natural attenuation mechanism on a broader scale. Application of the tracer-corrected method to data from the Brookhaven

  20. Smoking attenuates the negative association between carotenoids consumption and colorectal cancer risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaiter, Y; Gruber, S B; Ben-Amotz, A; Almog, R; Rennert, H S; Fischler, R; Rozen, G; Rennert, G

    2009-10-01

    Consumption of vegetables and fruits, physical activity, obesity and caloric intake are all strongly related to the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). The association between dietary intake of carotenoids from vegetables/fruits and risk of CRC in the context of cigarette smoking was studied in a nutritionally diverse population. The study included 1,817 age sex residence-matched case-control pairs from a population-based study in Northern Israel. Data were acquired by food-frequency questionnaire. Individual intake of carotenoid isomers was calculated using an Israeli food content database. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression models adjusted for known risk factors. Strong inverse associations were found with consumption of 9-cis-beta-carotene (OR = 0.35, 0.26-0.47), all-trans-beta-carotene (OR = 0.58, 0.44-0.76), cis-beta-cryptoxanthin (OR = 0.67, 0.50-0.90), all-trans-zeaxanthin (OR = 0.64, 0.48-0.86), and lutein (OR = 0.74, 0.57-0.96). Lycopene (OR = 2.22, 1.71-2.89) and all-trans-beta-cryptoxanthin (OR = 2.01, 1.48-2.73) were associated with increased risk of CRC. Inverse associations of most carotenoids with CRC, demonstrated in non-smokers, were much attenuated or reversed in past or current smokers with a highly significant interaction term. Consumption of most dietary carotenoids was found to be strongly associated with reduced risk of CRC. However, smoking significantly attenuated or reversed this observed protective effect on CRC occurrence. Smokers should be advised that smoking also hampers the potential health promoting effects of high fruit and vegetable consumption.

  1. PET attenuation correction for rigid MR Tx/Rx coils from 176Lu background activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerche, Christoph W.; Kaltsas, Theodoris; Caldeira, Liliana; Scheins, Jürgen; Rota Kops, Elena; Tellmann, Lutz; Pietrzyk, Uwe; Herzog, Hans; Shah, N. Jon

    2018-02-01

    One challenge for PET-MR hybrid imaging is the correction for attenuation of the 511 keV annihilation radiation by the required RF transmit and/or RF receive coils. Although there are strategies for building PET transparent Tx/Rx coils, such optimised coils still cause significant attenuation of the annihilation radiation leading to artefacts and biases in the reconstructed activity concentrations. We present a straightforward method to measure the attenuation of Tx/Rx coils in simultaneous MR-PET imaging based on the natural 176Lu background contained in the scintillator of the PET detector without the requirement of an external CT scanner or PET scanner with transmission source. The method was evaluated on a prototype 3T MR-BrainPET produced by Siemens Healthcare GmbH, both with phantom studies and with true emission images from patient/volunteer examinations. Furthermore, the count rate stability of the PET scanner and the x-ray properties of the Tx/Rx head coil were investigated. Even without energy extrapolation from the two dominant γ energies of 176Lu to 511 keV, the presented method for attenuation correction, based on the measurement of 176Lu background attenuation, shows slightly better performance than the coil attenuation correction currently used. The coil attenuation correction currently used is based on an external transmission scan with rotating 68Ge sources acquired on a Siemens ECAT HR  +  PET scanner. However, the main advantage of the presented approach is its straightforwardness and ready availability without the need for additional accessories.

  2. Low health literacy predicts decline in physical function among older adults: findings from the LitCog cohort study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Samuel G; O'Conor, Rachel; Curtis, Laura M; Waite, Katie; Deary, Ian J; Paasche-Orlow, Michael; Wolf, Michael S

    2015-01-01

    Background Limited health literacy is associated with worse physical function in cross-sectional studies. We aimed to determine if health literacy is a risk factor for decline in physical function among older adults. Methods A longitudinal cohort of 529 community-dwelling American adults aged 55–74 years were recruited from an academic general internal medicine clinic and federally qualified health centres in 2008–2011. Health literacy (Newest Vital Sign), age, gender, race, education, chronic conditions, body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking status and exercise frequency were included in multivariable analyses. The 10-item PROMIS (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) physical function scale was assessed at baseline and follow-up (mean=3.2 years, SD=0.39). Results Nearly half of the sample (48.2%) had either marginal (25.5%) or low health literacy (22.7%). Average physical function at baseline was 83.2 (SD=16.6) of 100, and health literacy was associated with poorer baseline physical function in multivariable analysis (p=0.004). At follow-up, physical function declined to 81.9 (SD=17.3; p=0.006) and 20.5% experienced a meaningful decline (>0.5 SD of baseline score). In multivariable analyses, participants with marginal (OR 2.62; 95%CI 1.38 to 4.95; p=0.003) and low (OR 2.57; 95%CI 1.22 to 5.44; p=0.013) health literacy were more likely to experience meaningful decline in physical function than the adequate health literacy group. Entering cognitive abilities to these models did not substantially attenuate effect sizes. Health literacy attenuated the relationship between black race and decline in physical function by 32.6%. Conclusions Lower health literacy increases the risk of exhibiting faster physical decline over time among older adults. Strategies that reduce literacy disparities should be designed and evaluated. PMID:25573701

  3. Quantitative Evaluation of Segmentation- and Atlas-Based Attenuation Correction for PET/MR on Pediatric Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bezrukov, Ilja; Schmidt, Holger; Gatidis, Sergios; Mantlik, Frédéric; Schäfer, Jürgen F; Schwenzer, Nina; Pichler, Bernd J

    2015-07-01

    Pediatric imaging is regarded as a key application for combined PET/MR imaging systems. Because existing MR-based attenuation-correction methods were not designed specifically for pediatric patients, we assessed the impact of 2 potentially influential factors: inter- and intrapatient variability of attenuation coefficients and anatomic variability. Furthermore, we evaluated the quantification accuracy of 3 methods for MR-based attenuation correction without (SEGbase) and with bone prediction using an adult and a pediatric atlas (SEGwBONEad and SEGwBONEpe, respectively) on PET data of pediatric patients. The variability of attenuation coefficients between and within pediatric (5-17 y, n = 17) and adult (27-66 y, n = 16) patient collectives was assessed on volumes of interest (VOIs) in CT datasets for different tissue types. Anatomic variability was assessed on SEGwBONEad/pe attenuation maps by computing mean differences to CT-based attenuation maps for regions of bone tissue, lungs, and soft tissue. PET quantification was evaluated on VOIs with physiologic uptake and on 80% isocontour VOIs with elevated uptake in the thorax and abdomen/pelvis. Inter- and intrapatient variability of the bias was assessed for each VOI group and method. Statistically significant differences in mean VOI Hounsfield unit values and linear attenuation coefficients between adult and pediatric collectives were found in the lungs and femur. The prediction of attenuation maps using the pediatric atlas showed a reduced error in bone tissue and better delineation of bone structure. Evaluation of PET quantification accuracy showed statistically significant mean errors in mean standardized uptake values of -14% ± 5% and -23% ± 6% in bone marrow and femur-adjacent VOIs with physiologic uptake for SEGbase, which could be reduced to 0% ± 4% and -1% ± 5% using SEGwBONEpe attenuation maps. Bias in soft-tissue VOIs was less than 5% for all methods. Lung VOIs showed high SDs in the range of 15% for

  4. Partial nitrification enhances natural attenuation of nitrogen in a septic system plume.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caschetto, M; Robertson, W; Petitta, M; Aravena, R

    2018-06-01

    Natural attenuation of nitrogen (N) was investigated in a well characterized septic system plume at a campground in Ontario, Canada. Total inorganic N (TIN) concentrations in deeper portions of the plume were about one third of the septic tank value of 40.7mgL -1 . NH 4 + and NO 3 - isotopic characterization were used to provide insight into potential attenuation processes. Concentrations of NH 4 + and NO 3 - were highly variable in the plume, but approached the septic tank TIN value in some shallow zones and exhibited δ 15 N values like the tank value of +6‰. However, isotopic enrichment (up to +24‰ for NH 4 + and +45‰ for NO 3 - ) and declining TIN concentrations in the deeper zones indicated that anaerobic ammonium oxidation contributed to the TIN attenuation. The degree of isotopic enrichment increased at lower NH 4 + concentrations and was consistent with Rayleigh-type distillation with an enrichment factor (Ɛ) of -5.1‰. Additionally, decreasing DOC values with depth and the concomitant enrichment of δ 15 N NO3 and δ 18 O NO3 , suggested that denitrification was also active. The N attenuation observed in the Killarney plume was partly due to incomplete nitrification that occurred because of the shallow water table, which varied from only 0.2-0.7m below the tile bed infiltration pipes. Moreover, some of the monitoring locations with the shallowest water table distances from the infiltration pipes, had the highest degree of TIN attenuation (70-90%) in the plume. This behavior suggests that controlling water table distance from the infiltration pipes could be a useful mechanism for enhancing N attenuation in septic system plumes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. An empirical model of diagnostic x-ray attenuation under narrow-beam geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mathieu, Kelsey B.; Kappadath, S. Cheenu; White, R. Allen; Atkinson, E. Neely; Cody, Dianna D.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a mathematical model to describe narrow-beam attenuation of kilovoltage x-ray beams for the intended applications of half-value layer (HVL) and quarter-value layer (QVL) estimations, patient organ shielding, and computer modeling. Methods: An empirical model, which uses the Lambert W function and represents a generalized Lambert-Beer law, was developed. To validate this model, transmission of diagnostic energy x-ray beams was measured over a wide range of attenuator thicknesses [0.49-33.03 mm Al on a computed tomography (CT) scanner, 0.09-1.93 mm Al on two mammography systems, and 0.1-0.45 mm Cu and 0.49-14.87 mm Al using general radiography]. Exposure measurements were acquired under narrow-beam geometry using standard methods, including the appropriate ionization chamber, for each radiographic system. Nonlinear regression was used to find the best-fit curve of the proposed Lambert W model to each measured transmission versus attenuator thickness data set. In addition to validating the Lambert W model, we also assessed the performance of two-point Lambert W interpolation compared to traditional methods for estimating the HVL and QVL [i.e., semilogarithmic (exponential) and linear interpolation]. Results: The Lambert W model was validated for modeling attenuation versus attenuator thickness with respect to the data collected in this study (R 2 > 0.99). Furthermore, Lambert W interpolation was more accurate and less sensitive to the choice of interpolation points used to estimate the HVL and/or QVL than the traditional methods of semilogarithmic and linear interpolation. Conclusions: The proposed Lambert W model accurately describes attenuation of both monoenergetic radiation and (kilovoltage) polyenergetic beams (under narrow-beam geometry).

  6. An empirical model of diagnostic x-ray attenuation under narrow-beam geometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathieu, Kelsey B; Kappadath, S Cheenu; White, R Allen; Atkinson, E Neely; Cody, Dianna D

    2011-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a mathematical model to describe narrow-beam attenuation of kilovoltage x-ray beams for the intended applications of half-value layer (HVL) and quarter-value layer (QVL) estimations, patient organ shielding, and computer modeling. An empirical model, which uses the Lambert W function and represents a generalized Lambert-Beer law, was developed. To validate this model, transmission of diagnostic energy x-ray beams was measured over a wide range of attenuator thicknesses [0.49-33.03 mm Al on a computed tomography (CT) scanner, 0.09-1.93 mm Al on two mammography systems, and 0.1-0.45 mm Cu and 0.49-14.87 mm Al using general radiography]. Exposure measurements were acquired under narrow-beam geometry using standard methods, including the appropriate ionization chamber, for each radiographic system. Nonlinear regression was used to find the best-fit curve of the proposed Lambert W model to each measured transmission versus attenuator thickness data set. In addition to validating the Lambert W model, we also assessed the performance of two-point Lambert W interpolation compared to traditional methods for estimating the HVL and QVL [i.e., semi-logarithmic (exponential) and linear interpolation]. The Lambert W model was validated for modeling attenuation versus attenuator thickness with respect to the data collected in this study (R2 > 0.99). Furthermore, Lambert W interpolation was more accurate and less sensitive to the choice of interpolation points used to estimate the HVL and/or QVL than the traditional methods of semilogarithmic and linear interpolation. The proposed Lambert W model accurately describes attenuation of both monoenergetic radiation and (kilovoltage) polyenergetic beams (under narrow-beam geometry).

  7. Performance Evaluation of the Spectral Centroid Downshift Method for Attenuation Estimation

    OpenAIRE

    Samimi, Kayvan; Varghese, Tomy

    2015-01-01

    Estimation of frequency-dependent ultrasonic attenuation is an important aspect of tissue characterization. Along with other acoustic parameters studied in quantitative ultrasound, the attenuation coefficient can be used to differentiate normal and pathological tissue. The spectral centroid downshift (CDS) method is one the most common frequency-domain approaches applied to this problem. In this study, a statistical analysis of this method’s performance was carried out based on a parametric m...

  8. Influence of tube voltage on CT attenuation, radiation dose, and image quality: phantom study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Fengtan; Li Dong; Zhang Yunting

    2013-01-01

    Objective: To assess the influence of tube current and tube voltage on the CT attenuation, radiation dose, and image quality. Methods: A total of 113 saline solutions with decreasing dilution of contrast medium (370 mg I/ml) was produced. MDCT scan was performed with 15 series of different settings of tube current and tube voltage. CT attenuations with 15 series of different settings were all measured, and influence of tube current and tube voltage on CT attenuations was analyzed. CT dose index (CTDIvol) was recorded. The CT attenuations with different tube voltage and current were compared with one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test. The correlation of CT attenuation with different tube voltage and the influence of tube voltage and current on radiation dose and image quality were tested by correlation analysis. Results: Tube current (250, 200, 150, 100, and 50 mA) had no significant effect on CT attenuation (F = 0.001, 0.008, 0.075, P > 0.05), while tube voltage (120, 100, and 80 kV) had significant effect (H = 17.906, 17.906, 13.527, 20.124, 23.563, P < 0.05). The correlation between CT attenuation and tube voltage was determined with equation: CT attenuatio N_1_0_0 _k_V = 1.561 × CT attenuatio N_1_2_0 _k_v + 4.0818, CT attenuatio N_8_0 _k_v = 1.2131 × CT attenuatio N_1_2_0 _k_v + 0.9283. The influence of tube voltage on radiation dose and image quality was also analyzed, and equations were also obtained: N_1_2_0 -k_v = -5.9771 Ln (D_1_2_0 kv) + 25.412, N_1_0_0 _k_v = -10.544 Ln (D_1_0_0 _k_v) + 36.262, N_8_0 _k_v = -25.326 Ln (D_8_0 _k_v) + 62.816. According to the results of relationship among CT attenuation, radiation dose, and image quality, lower tube voltage with higher tube current can reduce the radiation dose. Conclusions: Lower tube voltage can reduce the radiation dose. However, CT attenuation was influenced, and correction should be done with the equations. (authors)

  9. Site Screening and Technical Guidance for Monitored Natural Attenuation at DOE Sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borns, D.J.; Brady, P.V.; Brady, W.D.; Krupka, K.M.; Spalding, B.P.; Waters, R.D.; Zhang, P.

    1999-03-01

    Site Screening and Technical Guidance for Monitored Natural Attenuation at DOE Sites briefly outlines the biological and geochemical origins of natural attenuation, the tendency for natural processes in soils to mitigate contaminant transport and availability, and the means for relying on monitored natural attenuation (MNA) for remediation of contaminated soils and groundwaters. This report contains a step-by-step guide for (1) screening contaminated soils and groundwaters on the basis of their potential for remediation by natural attenuation and (2) implementing MNA consistent with EPA OSWER Directive 9200.4-17. The screening and implementation procedures are set up as a web-based tool (http://www.sandia.gov/eesector/gs/gc/na/mnahome.html) to assist US Department of Energy (DOE) site environmental managers and their staff and contractors to adhere to EPA guidelines for implementing MNA. This document is intended to support the Decision Maker's Framework Guide and Monitoring Guide both to be issued from DOE EM-40. Further technical advances may cause some of the approach outlined in this document to change over time.

  10. Seismic Linear Noise Attenuation with Use of Radial Transform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szymańska-Małysa, Żaneta

    2018-03-01

    One of the goals of seismic data processing is to attenuate the recorded noise in order to enable correct interpretation of the image. Radial transform has been used as a very effective tool in the attenuation of various types of linear noise, both numerical and real (such as ground roll, direct waves, head waves, guided waves etc). The result of transformation from offset - time (X - T) domain into apparent velocity - time (R - T) domain is frequency separation between reflections and linear events. In this article synthetic and real seismic shot gathers were examined. One example was targeted at far offset area of dataset where reflections and noise had similar apparent velocities and frequency bands. Another example was a result of elastic modelling where linear artefacts were produced. Bandpass filtering and scaling operation executed in radial domain attenuated all discussed types of linear noise very effectively. After noise reduction all further processing steps reveal better results, especially velocity analysis, migration and stacking. In all presented cases signal-to-noise ratio was significantly increased and reflections covered previously by noise were revealed. Power spectra of filtered seismic records preserved real dynamics of reflections.

  11. Sinapate esters provide greater UV-B attenuation than flavonoids in Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sheahan, J.J.

    1996-01-01

    Mutants affected in flavonoid (tt4) or sinapate ester (fah1) biosynthesis were used to assess the relative importance of these phenolic UV photoprotectants in Arabidopsis. Flavonoid and sinapate ester absorption was more specific for UV-B than major nonphenolic chromophores in crude extracts. A new method of evaluating phenolic UV-B attenuation was developed using fluorescence analysis. When excited by UV-B, sinapate ester containing leaves and cotyledons had enhanced sinapate ester fluorescence and reduced chlorophyll fluorescence relative to those without sinapate esters. Although fluorescence analysis gave no evidence of UV-B attenuation by flavonoids, enhanced chlorophyll and protein loss were observed upon UV-B exposure in flavonoid-deficient leaves, suggesting they have another mechanism of UV-B protection. The hydroxycinnamates have been largely ignored as UV-B attenuating pigments. and the results indicate that greater attention should be paid to their role in attenuating UV-B

  12. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence of wild-type hepatitis - A virus and its attenuated candidate vaccine derivative

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cohen, J.I.; Rosenblum, B.; Ticehurst, J.R.; Daemer, R.; Feinstone, S.; Purcell, R.H.

    1987-01-01

    Development of attenuated mutants for use as vaccines is in progress for other viruses, including influenza, rotavirus, varicella-zoster, cytomegalovirus, and hepatitis-A virus (HAV). Attenuated viruses may be derived from naturally occurring mutants that infect human or nonhuman hosts. Alternatively, attenuated mutants may be generated by passage of wild-type virus in cell culture. Production of attenuated viruses in cell culture is a laborious and empiric process. Despite previous empiric successes, understanding the molecular basis for attenuation of vaccine viruses could facilitate future development and use of live-virus vaccines. Comparison of the complete nucleotide sequences of wild-type (virulent) and vaccine (attenuated) viruses has been reported for polioviruses and yellow fever virus. Here, the authors compare the nucleotide sequence of wild-type HAV HM-175 with that of a candidate vaccine derivative

  13. Attenuation correction factors for cylindrical, disc and box geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agarwal, Chhavi; Poi, Sanhita; Mhatre, Amol; Goswami, A.; Gathibandhe, M.

    2009-01-01

    In the present study, attenuation correction factors have been experimentally determined for samples having cylindrical, disc and box geometry and compared with the attenuation correction factors calculated by Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) method [ C. Agarwal, S. Poi, A. Goswami, M. Gathibandhe, R.A. Agrawal, Nucl. Instr. and. Meth. A 597 (2008) 198] and with the near-field and far-field formulations available in literature. It has been observed that the near-field formulae, although said to be applicable at close sample-detector geometry, does not work at very close sample-detector configuration. The advantage of the HMC method is that it is found to be valid for all sample-detector geometries.

  14. Evolutionary characteristics of morbilliviruses during serial passages in vitro: Gradual attenuation of virus virulence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Fuxiao; Wu, Xiaodong; Li, Lin; Zou, Yanli; Liu, Shan; Wang, Zhiliang

    2016-08-01

    The genus Morbillivirus is classified into the family Paramyxoviridae, and is composed of 6 members, namely measles virus (MV), rinderpest virus (RPV), peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV), canine distemper virus (CDV), phocine distemper virus (PDV) and cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV). The MV, RPV, PPRV and CDV have been successfully attenuated through their serial passages in vitro for the production of live vaccines. It has been demonstrated that the morbilliviral virulence in animals was progressively attenuated with their consecutive passages in vitro. However, only a few reports were involved in explanation of an attenuation-related mechanism on them until many years after the establishment of a quasispecies theory. RNA virus quasispecies arise from rapid evolution of viruses with high mutation rate during genomic replication, and play an important role in gradual loss of viral virulence by serial passages. Here, we overviewed the development of live-attenuated vaccine strains against morbilliviruses by consecutive passages in vitro, and further discussed a related mechanism concerning the relationship between virulence attenuation and viral evolution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Pulsed x-ray induced attenuation measurements of single mode optical fibers and coupler materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johan, A.; Charre, P.

    1994-01-01

    Pulsed X-ray induced transient radiation attenuation measurements of single mode optical fibers have been performed versus total dose, light wavelength, optical power and fiber coil diameter in order to determine the behavior of parameters sensitive to ionizing radiation. The results did not show any photobleaching phenomenon and the attenuation was found independent of the spool diameter. As expected, transient attenuation was lower for higher wave-lengths. The recovery took place in the millisecond range and was independent of total dose, light wavelength and optical power. In optical modules and devices a large range of behaviors was observed according to coupler material i.e., Corning coupler showed a small peak attenuation that remained more than one day later; on the other hand LiTaO 3 material experienced an order of magnitude higher peak attenuation and a recovery in the millisecond range. For applications with optical fibers and integrated optics devices the authors showed that in many cases the optical fiber (length above 100 m) is the most sensitive device in a transient ionizing radiation field

  16. Groundwater contamination and natural attenuation capacity at a petroleum spilled facility in Korea

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Hyun-Mi Choi; Jin-Yong Lee

    2011-01-01

    As a remedial option,the natural attenuation capacity of a petroleum contaminated groundwater at a military facility was examined.Hydrogeological conditions,such as high water level,permeable uppermost layer and frequent heavy rainfall,were favorable to natural attenuation at this site.The changes in the concentrations of electron acceptors and donors,as well as the relevant hydrochemical conditions,indicated the occurrence of aerobic respiration,denitrification,iron reduction,manganese reduction and sulfate reduction.The calculated BTEX expressed biodegradation capacity ranged between 20.52 and 33.67 mg/L,which appeared effective for the reduction of the contaminants levels.The contribution of each electron accepting process to the total biodegradation was in the order:denitrification > iron reduction > sulfate reduction > aerobic respiration > manganese reduction.The BTEX and benzene point attenuation rates were 0.0058-0.0064 and 0.0005-0.0032 day-1,respectively,and the remediation time was 0.7-1.2 and 2.5-30 years,respectively.The BTEX and benzene bulk attenuation rates were 8.69 × 10-4 and 1.05 × 10-3 day-1,respectively,and the remediation times for BTEX and benzene were 7.2 and 17.5 years,respectively.However,most of the natural attenuation occurring in this site can be attributed to dilution and dispersion.Consequently,the biodegradation and natural attenuation capacities were good enough to lower the contaminants levels,but their rates appeared to be insufficient to reach the remediation goal within a reasonable time frame.Therefore,some active remedial measures would be required.

  17. In-stream attenuation of neuro-active pharmaceuticals and their metabolites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Writer, Jeffrey; Antweiler, Ronald C.; Ferrar, Imma; Ryan, Joseph N.; Thurman, Michael

    2013-01-01

    In-stream attenuation was determined for 14 neuro-active pharmaceuticals and associated metabolites. Lagrangian sampling, which follows a parcel of water as it moves downstream, was used to link hydrological and chemical transformation processes. Wastewater loading of neuro-active compounds varied considerably over a span of several hours, and thus a sampling regime was used to verify that the Lagrangian parcel was being sampled and a mechanism was developed to correct measured concentrations if it was not. In-stream attenuation over the 5.4-km evaluated reach could be modeled as pseudo-first-order decay for 11 of the 14 evaluated neuro-active pharmaceutical compounds, illustrating the capacity of streams to reduce conveyance of neuro-active compounds downstream. Fluoxetine and N-desmethyl citalopram were the most rapidly attenuated compounds (t1/2 = 3.6 ± 0.3 h, 4.0 ± 0.2 h, respectively). Lamotrigine, 10,11,-dihydro-10,11,-dihydroxy-carbamazepine, and carbamazepine were the most persistent (t1/2 = 12 ± 2.0 h, 12 ± 2.6 h, 21 ± 4.5 h, respectively). Parent compounds (e.g., buproprion, carbamazepine, lamotrigine) generally were more persistent relative to their metabolites. Several compounds (citalopram, venlafaxine, O-desmethyl-venlafaxine) were not attenuated. It was postulated that the primary mechanism of removal for these compounds was interaction with bed sediments and stream biofilms, based on measured concentrations in stream biofilms and a column experiment using stream sediments.

  18. Prognostic significance of contrast-enhanced CT attenuation value in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Asayama, Yoshiki [Kyushu University, Department of Advanced Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Fukuoka (Japan); Nishie, Akihiro; Ishigami, Kousei; Ushijima, Yasuhiro; Takayama, Yukihisa; Okamoto, Daisuke; Fujita, Nobuhiro; Honda, Hiroshi [Kyushu University, Departments of Clinical Radiology, Fukuoka (Japan); Ohtsuka, Takao [Kyushu University, Departments of Surgery and Oncology, Fukuoka (Japan); Yoshizumi, Tomoharu [Kyushu University, Departments of Surgery and Sciences, Fukuoka (Japan); Aishima, Shinichi [Saga University, Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saga (Japan); Kyushu University, Departments of Anatomic Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Fukuoka (Japan); Oda, Yoshinao [Kyushu University, Departments of Anatomic Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Fukuoka (Japan)

    2017-06-15

    To determine whether washout characteristics of dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) could predict survival in patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHC). This study collected 46 resected cases. All cases were examined by dynamic contrast study on multidetector-row CT. Region-of-interest measurements were obtained at the non-enhanced, portal venous phase and delayed phase in the tumour and were used to calculate the washout ratio as follows: [(attenuation value at portal venous phase CT - attenuation value at delayed enhanced CT)/(attenuation value at portal venous phase CT - attenuation value at unenhanced CT)] x 100. On the basis of the median washout ratio, we classified the cases into two groups, a high-washout group and low-washout group. Associations between overall survival and various factors including washout rates were analysed. The median washout ratio was 29.4 %. Univariate analysis revealed that a lower washout ratio, venous invasion, lymphatic permeation and lymph node metastasis were associated with shorter survival. Multivariate analysis identified the lower washout ratio as an independent prognostic factor (hazard ratio, 3.768; p value, 0.027). The washout ratio obtained from the contrast-enhanced CT may be a useful imaging biomarker for the prediction of survival of patients with EHC. (orig.)

  19. Analysis of optical attenuation from measured visibility data in islamabad, pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, R.; Khan, M.S.

    2018-01-01

    FSOL (Free-Space Optical Links) are becoming very popular due to the inherent advantages of high data rates, rapid deployment, portability, cost effective and immunity to electromagnetic interference. FSOL is a line-of-sight technology that uses a modulated beam of light to transmit and receive the data of multiple of Giga Bit per second. FSOL uses the free space or atmosphere as a communication channel. Optical signal launched at transmitter end, travels through the atmosphere and reaches to the receiver, is severely affected by the local atmospheric conditions. Atmosphere contains different atmospheric particulates like fog, rain, snow, smog, clouds and haze. These atmospheric particulates, particularly fog, effect the propagation of optical signal passing through the atmosphere and cause significant amount of optical attenuation. In order to deploy FSO system, a detailed analysis of local weather condition is much more important. Here, we present the measured visibility data for analysis of optical attenuation. Visibility data was measured at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology from 2009-2012. Percentage CDF (Cumulative Distribution Function) is used to find out the detailed insight about the optical attenuation of FSOL. Yearly based CDFs is compared with each other which clearly suggest that almost 99% of time optical attenuation remains within the range of 2 dB/km. (author)

  20. Natural attenuation of metals and radionuclides: Report from a workshop held by Sandia National Laboratories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brady, P.V.; Borns, D.J.

    1997-11-01

    Natural attenuation is increasingly applied to remediate contaminated soils and ground waters. Roughly 25% of Superfund groundwater remedies in 1995 involved some type of monitored natural attenuation, compared to almost none 5 years ago. Remediation by natural attenuation (RNA) requires clear evidence that contaminant levels are decreasing sufficiently over time, a defensible explanation of the attenuation mechanism, long-term monitoring, and a contingency plan at the very least. Although the primary focus of implementation has to date been the biodegradation of organic contaminants, there is a wealth of scientific evidence that natural processes reduce the bioavailability of contaminant metals and radionuclides. Natural attenuation of metals and radionuclides is likely to revolve around sorption, solubility, biologic uptake and dilution controls over contaminant availability. Some of these processes can be applied to actively remediate sites. Others, such as phytoremediation, are likely to be ineffective. RNA of metals and radionuclides is likely to require specialized site characterization to construct contaminant and site-specific conceptual models of contaminant behavior. Ideally, conceptual models should be refined such that contaminant attenuation can be confidently predicted into the future. The technical approach to RNA of metals and radionuclides is explored here

  1. Natural attenuation of metals and radionuclides: Report from a workshop held by Sandia National Laboratories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brady, P.V.; Borns, D.J. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Geochemistry Dept.

    1997-11-01

    Natural attenuation is increasingly applied to remediate contaminated soils and ground waters. Roughly 25% of Superfund groundwater remedies in 1995 involved some type of monitored natural attenuation, compared to almost none 5 years ago. Remediation by natural attenuation (RNA) requires clear evidence that contaminant levels are decreasing sufficiently over time, a defensible explanation of the attenuation mechanism, long-term monitoring, and a contingency plan at the very least. Although the primary focus of implementation has to date been the biodegradation of organic contaminants, there is a wealth of scientific evidence that natural processes reduce the bioavailability of contaminant metals and radionuclides. Natural attenuation of metals and radionuclides is likely to revolve around sorption, solubility, biologic uptake and dilution controls over contaminant availability. Some of these processes can be applied to actively remediate sites. Others, such as phytoremediation, are likely to be ineffective. RNA of metals and radionuclides is likely to require specialized site characterization to construct contaminant and site-specific conceptual models of contaminant behavior. Ideally, conceptual models should be refined such that contaminant attenuation can be confidently predicted into the future. The technical approach to RNA of metals and radionuclides is explored here.

  2. Optimization of Power Consumption for Centrifugation Process Based on Attenuation Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salim, M. S.; Abd Malek, M. F.; Sabri, Naseer; Omar, M. Iqbal bin; Mohamed, Latifah; Juni, K. M.

    2013-04-01

    The main objective of this research is to produce a mathematical model that allows decreasing the electrical power consumption of centrifugation process based on attenuation measurements. The centrifugation time for desired separation efficiency may be measured to determine the power consumed of laboratory centrifuge device. The power consumption is one of several parameters that affect the system reliability and productivity. Attenuation measurements of wave propagated through blood sample during centrifugation process were used indirectly to measure the power consumption of device. A mathematical model for power consumption was derived and used to modify the speed profile of centrifuge controller. The power consumption model derived based on attenuation measurements has successfully save the power consumption of centrifugation process keeping high separation efficiency. 18kW.h monthly for 100 daily time device operation had been saved using the proposed model.

  3. Optimization of Power Consumption for Centrifugation Process Based on Attenuation Measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salim, M S; Iqbal bin Omar, M; Malek, M F Abd; Mohamed, Latifah; Sabri, Naseer; Juni, K M

    2013-01-01

    The main objective of this research is to produce a mathematical model that allows decreasing the electrical power consumption of centrifugation process based on attenuation measurements. The centrifugation time for desired separation efficiency may be measured to determine the power consumed of laboratory centrifuge device. The power consumption is one of several parameters that affect the system reliability and productivity. Attenuation measurements of wave propagated through blood sample during centrifugation process were used indirectly to measure the power consumption of device. A mathematical model for power consumption was derived and used to modify the speed profile of centrifuge controller. The power consumption model derived based on attenuation measurements has successfully save the power consumption of centrifugation process keeping high separation efficiency. 18kW.h monthly for 100 daily time device operation had been saved using the proposed model.

  4. Numerical Study of Shock Wave Attenuation in Two-Dimensional Ducts Using Solid Obstacles: How to Utilize Shock Focusing Techniques to Attenuate Shock Waves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qian Wan

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Research on shock wave mitigation in channels has been a topic of much attention in the shock wave community. One approach to attenuate an incident shock wave is to use obstacles of various geometries arranged in different patterns. This work is inspired by the study from Chaudhuri et al. (2013, in which cylinders, squares and triangles placed in staggered and non-staggered subsequent columns were used to attenuate a planar incident shock wave. Here, we present numerical simulations using a different obstacle pattern. Instead of using a matrix of obstacles, an arrangement of square or cylindrical obstacles placed along a logarithmic spiral curve is investigated, which is motivated by our previous work on shock focusing using logarithmic spirals. Results show that obstacles placed along a logarithmic spiral can delay both the transmitted and the reflected shock wave. For different incident shock Mach numbers, away from the logarithmic spiral design Mach number, this shape is effective to either delay the transmitted or the reflected shock wave. Results also confirm that the degree of attenuation depends on the obstacle shape, effective flow area and obstacle arrangement, much like other obstacle configurations.

  5. Non-hodgkin lymphoma containing low attenuation area at enhanced CT : correlation with histopathologic typing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Kyung Hoon; Kim, Hyung Jin; Ahn, In Oak; Chung, Sung Hoon [College of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju (Korea, Republic of); Park, Ji Hyun [Masan Koryo General Hospital, Masan (Korea, Republic of)

    1994-12-15

    To evaluate the frequently of low attenuation area in enhanced CT scans of non-Hodgkin lymphoma(NHL) and to find out if there is any pertinent relationship between this and the histopathologic classification. The authors reviewed CT scans in the newly-diagnosed 53 patients with NHL. We defined the low attenuation area as the one with CT attenuation value lower than that of the muscle, surrounding lesion, or other lymph nodes after contrast enhancement. NHL with the low attenuation areas were correlated with the histopathologic findings according to the classification based on the Working Formulation and the frequency of the lesion was evaluated. Of the 53 patients, the low attenuation area was found in 13 patients (25%) at CT. The histopathologic classification could be made in 12 patients, among whom one patient was classified as low-grade, six as intermediate-grade, and five as high-grade. Concerning the specific cell typing, the diffuse large cell type was most common in intermediate-grade NHL seen in five patients and the large cell, immunoblastic type was most common in high-grade NHL seen in three patients. The authors concluded that the low attenuation area within lymphoma is not an infrequent finding at CT, and there was no statistically significant correlation between this finding and the prognostic grading of the Working Formulation.

  6. Global seismic attenuation imaging using full-waveform inversion: a comparative assessment of different choices of misfit functionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karaoǧlu, Haydar; Romanowicz, Barbara

    2018-02-01

    We present the results of synthetic tests that aim at evaluating the relative performance of three different definitions of misfit functionals in the context of 3-D imaging of shear wave attenuation in the earth's upper mantle at the global scale, using long-period full-waveform data. The synthetic tests are conducted with simple hypothetical upper-mantle models that contain Qμ anomalies centred at different depths and locations, with or without additional seismic velocity anomalies. To build synthetic waveform data sets, we performed simulations of 50 events in the hypothetical (target) models, using the spectral element method, filtered in the period range 60-400 s. The selected events are chosen among 273 events used in the development of radially anisotropic model SEMUCB-WM1 and recorded at 495 stations worldwide. The synthetic Z-component waveforms correspond to paths and time intervals (fundamental mode and overtone Rayleigh waves) that exist in the real waveform data set. The inversions for shear attenuation structure are carried out using a Gauss-Newton optimization scheme in which the gradient and Hessian are computed using normal mode perturbation theory. The three different misfit functionals considered are based on time domain waveform (WF) and waveform envelope (E-WF) differences, as well as spectral amplitude ratios (SA), between observed and predicted waveforms. We evaluate the performance of the three misfit functional definitions in the presence of seismic noise and unresolved S-wave velocity heterogeneity and discuss the relative importance of physical dispersion effects due to 3-D Qμ structure. We observed that the performance of WF is poorer than the other two misfit functionals in recovering attenuation structure, unless anelastic dispersion effects are taken into account in the calculation of partial derivatives. WF also turns out to be more sensitive to seismic noise than E-WF and SA. Overall, SA performs best for attenuation imaging. Our

  7. Controlled Attenuation Parameter And Alcoholic Hepatic Steatosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thiele, Maja; Rausch, Vanessa; Fluhr, Gabriele

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) is a novel non-invasive measure of hepatic steatosis, but has not been evaluated in alcoholic liver disease. We therefore aimed to validate CAP for assessment of biopsy-verified alcoholic steatosis and to study the effect of alcohol deto...

  8. An efficient algorithm for reconstruction of spect images in the presence of spatially varying attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeeberg, B.R.; Bacharach, S.; Carson, R.; Green, M.V.; Larson, S.M.; Soucaille, J.F.

    1985-01-01

    An algorithm is presented which permits the reconstruction of SPECT images in the presence of spatially varying attenuation. The algorithm considers the spatially variant attenuation as a perturbation of the constant attenuation case and computes a reconstructed image and a correction image to estimate the effects of this perturbation. The corrected image will be computed from these two images and is of comparable quality both visually and quantitatively to those simulated for zero or constant attenuation taken as standard reference images. In addition, the algorithm is time efficient, in that the time required is approximately 2.5 times that for a standard convolution-back projection algorithm

  9. A simple rain attenuation model for earth-space radio links operating at 10-35 GHz

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stutzman, W. L.; Yon, K. M.

    1986-01-01

    The simple attenuation model has been improved from an earlier version and now includes the effect of wave polarization. The model is for the prediction of rain attenuation statistics on earth-space communication links operating in the 10-35 GHz band. Simple calculations produce attenuation values as a function of average rain rate. These together with rain rate statistics (either measured or predicted) can be used to predict annual rain attenuation statistics. In this paper model predictions are compared to measured data from a data base of 62 experiments performed in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Comparisons are also made to predictions from other models.

  10. Repetitive cryotherapy attenuates the in vitro and in vivo mononuclear cell activation response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay, Angus; Othman, Mohd Izani; Prebble, Hannah; Davies, Sian; Gieseg, Steven P

    2016-07-01

    What is the central question of this study? Acute and repetitive cryotherapy are routinely used to accelerate postexercise recovery, although the effect on resident immune cells and repetitive exposure has largely been unexplored and neglected. What is the main finding and its importance? Using blood-derived mononuclear cells and semi-professional mixed martial artists, we show that acute and repetitive cryotherapy reduces the in vitro and in vivo T-cell and monocyte activation response whilst remaining independent of the physical performance of elite athletes. We investigated the effect of repetitive cryotherapy on the in vitro (cold exposure) and in vivo (cold water immersion) activation of blood-derived mononuclear cells following high-intensity exercise. Single and repeated cold exposure (5°C) of a mixed cell culture (T cells and monocytes) was investigated using in vitro tissue culture experimentation for total neopterin production (neopterin plus 7,8-dihydroneopterin). Fourteen elite mixed martial art fighters were also randomly assigned to either a cold water immersion (15 min at 10°C) or passive recovery protocol, which they completed three times per week during a 6 week training camp. Urine was collected and analysed for neopterin and total neopterin three times per week, and perceived soreness, fatigue, physical performance (broad jump, push-ups and pull-ups) and training performance were also assessed. Single and repetitive cold exposure significantly (P cryotherapy attenuates in vitro T-cell and monocyte activation. This may explain the disparity in in vivo neopterin and total neopterin between cold water immersion and passive recovery following repetitive exposure during a high-intensity physical impact sport that remains independent of physical performance. © 2016 The Authors. Experimental Physiology © 2016 The Physiological Society.

  11. P300 is attenuated during dissociative episodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirino, Eiji

    2006-02-01

    The present study examined the pathophysiology of dissociative phenomena using the P300 component of event-related potentials, quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), and morphology measures of computed tomography scan. Event-related potentials during an auditory oddball paradigm and QEEG in resting state were recorded. Patients exhibited attenuation of P300 amplitudes compared with controls during dissociative episodes, but exhibited recovery to control levels in remission. Patients had a larger Sylvian fissure-brain ratio than did controls. QEEG findings revealed no significant differences between the patients and controls or between episodes and remission in the patient group. Attenuation of the P300 can be interpreted as the result of a negative feedback loop from the medial temporal lobe to the cortex, which decreases the amount of information flow, allocation of attentional resources, and updating of working memory to avoid both excessive long-term memory system activity in medial temporal lobe and resurgence of affect-laden memories.

  12. Overview of recent developments in attenuation models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riera, J.D.

    2001-01-01

    Attenuation equations predict features of the seismic motion, such as the horizontal and vertical peak ground accelerations (PGA), the peak ground velocities (PGV) and the 5% damped spectral acceleration response (SA), in terms of the earthquake magnitude and distance from source to site. Occasionally other factors, like the type of faulting, are considered in the attenuation expressions. An overview of recent developments in this field is presented in the paper, including a discussion of the applicability of various models for short source to site distances. In such a case, i.e. in the neighbourhood of the epicentral region, which is of utmost importance in Nuclear Power Plant applications, the use of two parameters to define the earthquake size is suggested, instead of the single parameter, a magnitude scale. Recent evidence of the importance in such situations of so-called directivity effects, which require a more complete description of the focal mechanism, completes the paper. (author)

  13. Electron attenuation in free, neutral ethane clusters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winkler, M; Myrseth, V; Harnes, J; Børve, K J

    2014-10-28

    The electron effective attenuation length (EAL) in free, neutral ethane clusters has been determined at 40 eV kinetic energy by combining carbon 1s x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical lineshape modeling. More specifically, theory is employed to form model spectra on a grid in cluster size (N) and EAL (λ), allowing N and λ to be determined by optimizing the goodness-of-fit χ(2)(N, λ) between model and observed spectra. Experimentally, the clusters were produced in an adiabatic-expansion setup using helium as the driving gas, spanning a range of 100-600 molecules in mean cluster size. The effective attenuation length was determined to be 8.4 ± 1.9 Å, in good agreement with an independent estimate of 10 Å formed on the basis of molecular electron-scattering data and Monte Carlo simulations. The aggregation state of the clusters as well as the cluster temperature and its importance to the derived EAL value are discussed in some depth.

  14. Evaluation of X ray attenuation by means of radiographic images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barros, Frieda Saicla; Paredes, Ramon S.C.; Godoi, Walmor C.; Souza, Gabriel Pinto de

    2011-01-01

    This paper's main goal is to adopt a qualitative methodology to evaluate the attenuation of x-radiation through X-ray images in polymeric materials plus residual lead. To determinate the images it was initially used an experimental setup at the Laboratory for Materials Diagnostics LACTEC. These results correspond to a more qualitative analysis, even with quantitative answers. Through analysis of radiographic images we can measure the intensity of radiation that goes through the plate, making possible to establish a relationship between the attenuation coefficient and the thickness of the material. (author)

  15. Ultrasonic attenuation measurements and 'glassy' behaviour of neutron irradiated quartz

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laermans, C.; Esteves, V.; Vanelstraete, A.

    1986-01-01

    The ultrasonic attenuation of longitudinal acoustic waves in slightly disordered crystalline quartz has been measured over a temperature range from 1.3 to 300 K, using the pulse-echo technique. Neutron irradiation is demonstrated to increase the ultrasonic attenuation at low temperatures indicating the presence of two-level tunneling systems similar to those of glasses. The present low-temperature acoustic results agree with a frequency independence and a T 3 behaviour for the relaxation process predicted by the two-level tunneling TLS-model where the regime ωT 1 >> 1 holds. (author)

  16. Depiction of normal gastrointestinal anatomy with MDCT: Comparison of low- and high-attenuation oral contrast media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erturk, Sukru Mehmet; Mortele, Koenraad J.; Oliva, Maria-Raquel; Ichikawa, Tomoaki; Silverman, Stuart G.; Cantisani, Vito; Pagliara, Elisa; Ros, Pablo R.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: To compare low- and high-attenuation oral contrast media for depiction of normal gastrointestinal anatomy with multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT). Materials and methods: A prospective, randomized study of 90 consecutive patients without known or suspected gastrointestinal disease was conducted after the approval of our Institutional Review Board. All patients underwent IV contrast-enhanced abdominal and pelvic CT scans after oral administration of 900 ml of either low- or high-attenuation barium sulphate suspension. Using a five-point scale, two radiologists independently graded distention and wall visualization of stomach, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. The degree of distention and wall visualization was compared using Mann-Whitney U-test. Results: Duodenal, jejunal and ileal distention (p < 0.05, <0.001, <0.001, respectively) and wall visualization (p < 0.05, <0.01, <0.05, respectively) scores with low-attenuation contrast medium were significantly higher than those with high-attenuation barium sulphate preparation, for reader 1. Duodenal and jejunal wall visualization scores with low-attenuation contrast medium (p < 0.05, <0.01, respectively) were significantly higher than those with high-attenuation contrast medium, for reader 2. Interobserver agreement was fair to good for both distention (κ-range: 0.41-0.74) and wall visualization (κ-range: 0.48-0.71). Conclusion: MDCT with low-attenuation contrast medium provides distention and wall visualization of the GI tract that is equal or better than high-attenuation contrast medium

  17. Retrieval of Macro- and Micro-Physical Properties of Oceanic Hydrosols from Polarimetric Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Amir; Gilerson, Alexander; Chowdhary, Jacek; Ahmed, Samir

    2016-01-01

    Remote sensing has mainly relied on measurements of scalar radiance and its spectral and angular features to retrieve micro- and macro-physical properties of aerosols/hydrosols. However, it is recognized that measurements that include the polarimetric characteristics of light provide more intrinsic information about particulate scattering. To take advantage of this, we used vector radiative transfer (VRT) simulations and developed an analytical relationship to retrieve the macro and micro-physical properties of the oceanic hydrosols. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between the observed degree of linear polarization (DoLP) and the ratio of attenuation-to- absorption coefficients (c/a) in water, from which the scattering coefficient can be readily computed (b equals c minus a), after retrieving a. This relationship was parameterized for various scattering geometries, including sensor zenith/azimuth angles relative to the Sun's principal plane, and for varying Sun zenith angles. An inversion method was also developed for the retrieval of the microphysical properties of hydrosols, such as the bulk refractive index and the particle size distribution. The DoLP vs c/a relationship was tested and validated against in-situ measurements of underwater light polarization obtained by a custom-built polarimeter and measurements of the coefficients a and c, obtained using an in-water WET (Western Environmental Technologies) Labs ac-s (attenuation coefficients In-Situ Spectrophotometer) instrument package. These measurements confirmed the validity of the approach, with retrievals of attenuation coefficients showing a high coefficient of determination depending on the wavelength. We also performed a sensitivity analysis of the DoLP at the Top of Atmosphere (TOA) over coastal waters showing the possibility of polarimetric remote sensing application for ocean color.

  18. Experimental comparison of gamma attenuations by glasses, lead, iron and concretes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charamathieu, Andre; Papot, Lucien

    1964-08-01

    The authors report the experimental determination, for lead glasses of density 3.3, 4.2, 5.2 and 6.2, of thicknesses equivalent to thicknesses given for lead, iron, ordinary concrete and barite concrete for Cobalt 60 and Caesium 137 radiations. Results are presented under the form of curves. Attenuation measurements made on this opportunity and those made on various hot cells have been compared with theoretical attenuation curves produced in another CEA document [fr

  19. The coriolis attenuation problem in the perturbed i13/2 neutronbands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Engeland

    1983-01-01

    Full Text Available The Coriolis attenuation problem in the particle-rotor model is shown to be related to the BCS approximation. A model including the full recoil effect of one- and two-body terms, and with an exact diagonalization of the pairing force, is applied on four nuclei in the rare earth region known to have strongly Coriolis-perturbed i13/2 rotational bands. In all nuclei, the old Coriolis attenuation problem has been removed.

  20. Signal Attenuation Curve for Different Surface Detector Arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vicha, J.; Travnicek, P.; Nosek, D.; Ebr, J.

    2014-06-01

    Modern cosmic ray experiments consisting of large array of particle detectors measure the signals of electromagnetic or muon components or their combination. The correction for an amount of atmosphere passed is applied to the surface detector signal before its conversion to the shower energy. Either Monte Carlo based approach assuming certain composition of primaries or indirect estimation using real data and assuming isotropy of arrival directions can be used. Toy surface arrays of different sensitivities to electromagnetic and muon components are assumed in MC simulations to study effects imposed on attenuation curves for varying composition or possible high energy anisotropy. The possible sensitivity of the attenuation curve to the mass composition is also tested for different array types focusing on a future apparatus that can separate muon and electromagnetic component signals.