In recent decades, muon imaging has found a plethora of applications in many fields. This technique succeeds to infer the density distribution of big inaccessible structures where conventional ...techniques cannot be used. The requirements of different applications demand specific implementations of image reconstruction algorithms for either multiple scattering or absorption-transmission data analysis, as well as noise-suppression filters and muon momentum estimators. This paper presents successful results of image reconstruction techniques applied to simulated data of some representative applications. In addition to well-known reconstruction methods, a novel approach, the so-called μCT, is proposed for the inspection of spent nuclear fuel canisters. Results obtained based on both μCT and the maximum-likelihood expectation maximization reconstruction algorithms are presented.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Cosmic-ray muography'.
A short description of the muon tomography demonstrator at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro near Padua, Italy, is given and the principal achievements owing to the data collected at that ...experimental facility are presented. In particular, the feasibility studies for several applications based on the muon-tomographic technology, within national and European projects, are discussed. The experimental problems and the procedures used to improve the performance are underlined. In addition, new activities and the related detector optimization are illustrated.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Cosmic-ray muography'.
We demonstrate that muon tomography can be used to precisely measure the properties of various materials. The materials which have been considered have been extracted from an experimental blast ...furnace, including carbon (coke) and iron oxides, for which measurements of the linear scattering density relative to the mass density have been performed with an absolute precision of 10%. We report the procedures that are used in order to obtain such precision, and a discussion is presented to address the expected performance of the technique when applied to heavier materials. The results we obtain do not depend on the specific type of material considered and therefore they can be extended to any application.
Summary
What is known
Spironolactone is used in paediatric patients with heart disease, yet few data are available regarding the impact on potassium supplementation.
Objective
We sought to determine ...the effect of spironolactone on potassium supplementation in paediatric cardiac intensive care patients.
Methods
A retrospective, propensity matched cohort study was designed. Patients were included in the study if they received furosemide therapy in the cardiac intensive care unit at our institution. Patients who received spironolactone were matched to patients who did not receive spironolactone. Data collection included patient demographics, diuretic data, potassium monitoring, and total milliequivalents of potassium administered during the cardiac intensive care unit stay.
Results and discussion
A total of 448 patients met study criteria median age 0.43 (IQR 0.06‐3.52) years, 58.9% male. Intensive care unit length of stay was 7 (IQR 3‐17) days, cardiovascular surgery occurred in 90.4%. Patients had a mean 4.6±2.6 potassium concentrations assessed per day (29.5%±19.4%<3.5 mmol/L, and 2.9%±6.5%>5.5 mmol/L). Patients received a median of 5.1 mEq/kg (0‐323.4 mEq/kg) of potassium. Spironolactone (n=224) was administered for 2 days (IQR 1‐4) at mean dose of 0.64±0.54 mg kg−1 d−1. Median total mEq/kg of potassium administered did not differ between groups (4.6 mEq/kg (IQR 0.66‐16.8) vs 6.5 mEq/kg (IQR 1.3‐18.3 mEq/kg), P=.13). Potassium laboratory values did not differ in hypokalemia (27.8%±19.1% vs 31.2%±19.5%, P=.06) or hyperkalemia (2.8%±5.4% vs 3.2%±7.5%, P=.49) between groups.
What is new
Spironolactone supplementation did not reduce the need for potassium supplementation in paediatric cardiac intensive care patients.
Conclusion
The routine use of spironolactone in the paediatric cardiac intensive care population may not be more efficacious than potassium supplementation for maintenance of serum potassium concentrations.
Abstract
The BLEMAB European project (BLast furnace stack density Estimation through on-line Muon ABsorption measurements), evolution of the previous Mu-Blast European project, is designed to ...investigate in detail the capability of muon radiography techniques applied to the imaging of a blast furnace’s inner zone. In particular, the geometry and size of the so called “cohesive zone”, i.e. the spatial zone where the slowly downward moving material begins to soften and melt, that plays an important role in the performance of the blast furnace itself. Thanks to the high penetration power of the natural cosmic ray muon radiation, muon transmission radiography represents an appropriate non-invasive methodology for imaging large high-density structures such as blast furnaces, whose linear size can be up to a few tens of meters. A state-of-the-art muon tracking system, whose design profits from the long experience of our collaboration in this field, is currently under development and will be installed in 2022 at a blast furnace on the ArcelorMittal site in Bremen (Germany) for many months. Collected data will be exploited to monitor temporal variations of the average density distribution inside the furnace. Muon radiography results will also be compared with measurements obtained through an enhanced multipoint probe and standard blast furnace models.
The muon tomography technique, based on multiple Coulomb scattering of cosmic ray muons, has been proposed as a tool to detect the presence of high density objects inside closed volumes. In this ...paper a new and innovative method is presented to handle the density fluctuations (noise) of reconstructed images, a well known problem of this technique. The effectiveness of our method is evaluated using experimental data obtained with a muon tomography prototype located at the Legnaro National Laboratories (LNL) of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN). The results reported in this paper, obtained with real cosmic ray data, show that with appropriate image filtering and muon momentum classification, the muon tomography technique can detect high density materials, such as lead, albeit surrounded by light or medium density material, in short times. A comparison with algorithms published in literature is also presented.
Applications of cosmic-ray muons Bonomi, G.; Checchia, P.; D’Errico, M. ...
Progress in particle and nuclear physics,
20/May , Letnik:
112
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Applications of cosmic-ray muons have grown in numbers in the last decades. This was possible thanks to the development of detectors and techniques employed in particle and nuclear physics. Indeed ...the first famous application, the scanning of the Chephren’s pyramid, was performed by L. W. Alvarez, that was a great expert in particle detectors and indeed was awarded a Nobel prize for his work on the hydrogen bubble chambers. After a first period in which the applications exploited mainly the absorption of the cosmic-ray muons when crossing a structure under investigation, more recently also the deflection of the muons has been used to design new applications. Nowadays more and more groups around the world are working on this research field. In the present review, after an introduction on cosmic-ray muons, the principles of the interaction of muons with matter will be briefly summarised. This description is important to classify the applications in three main categories: muon radiography, muon tomography and muon metrology. In the following, for each class, an overview of the basic ideas and a detailed description of the technologies will be presented along with a list of past and present applications.
A search is presented in proton-proton collisions at radicals = 7 TeV for fermionic triplet states expected in type III seesaw models. The search is performed using final states with three isolated ...charged leptons and an imbalance in transverse momentum. The data, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb super(?1). No excess of events is observed above the background predicted by the standard model, and the results are interpreted in terms of limits on production cross sections and masses of the heavy partners of the neutrinos in type III seesaw models. Depending on the considered scenarios, lower limits are obtained on the mass of the heavy partner of the neutrino that range from 180 to 210 GeV. These are the first limits on the production of type III seesaw fermionic triplet states reported by an experiment at the LHC.
Severe cardiac sequelae from Kawasaki disease include coronary ischemia and have been treated with a variety of coronary artery bypass procedures. There is only one published report of a child who ...underwent cardiac transplantation for severe Kawasaki disease-related cardiac complications. The purpose of this study was to gather the worldwide experience with cardiac transplantation for Kawasaki disease.
Data were obtained from the United Network for Organ Sharing Registry, the European transplant experience, and a phone survey of many Kawasaki disease investigators. Diagnostic and surgical reports as well as clinical records were reviewed. Results. We identified 13 Kawasaki disease patients who underwent cardiac transplantation and obtained data on 10. In these 10 patients, the timing of transplantation was within 6 months after diagnosis of Kawasaki disease (4 patients), 1 to 5 years after diagnosis (3 patients), and 9 to 12 years after diagnosis (3 patients). Indications for transplantation included severe myocardial dysfunction, severe ventricular arrhythmias including cardiac arrest, and severe distal multivessel occlusive coronary artery disease. Nine of the 10 patients remain alive and healthy, with up to 6 years' posttransplant follow-up. One patient died 10 months posttransplant after severe refractory rejection. In addition, 1 patient required retransplantation at 4 years for severe rejection.
Cardiac transplantation for severe ischemic heart disease as a sequela of Kawasaki disease is feasible and can benefit the small subgroup of patients who are not candidates for revascularization because of distal coronary stenosis or aneurysms and/or those with severe irreversible myocardial dysfunction.
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