The Sydney University Giant Air-shower Recorder (SUGAR) measured the energy spectrum of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays reconstructed from muon-detector readings, while the Pierre Auger Observatory, ...looking at the same Southern sky, used the calorimetric fluorescence method for the same purpose. Comparison of their two spectra allows us to reconstruct the empirical dependence of the number of muons in a vertical shower on the primary energy for energies between 1017 and 1018.5 eV. We compare this dependence with the predictions of hadronic interaction models QGSJET-II-04, EPOS-LHC and SIBYLL-2.3c. The empirically determined number of muons with energies above 0.75 GeV in a vertical shower exceeds the simulated one by the factors ∼1.7 and ∼1.3 for 1017 eV proton and iron primaries, respectively. The muon excess grows moderately with the primary energy, increasing by an additional factor of ∼1.2 for 1018.5 eV primaries.
Tunka-133: Results of 3 year operation Prosin, V.V.; Berezhnev, S.F.; Budnev, N.M. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
08/2014, Letnik:
756
Journal Article
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Odprti dostop
The EAS Cherenkov light array Tunka-133, with ~3km2 geometric area, is taking data since 2009. The array permits a detailed study of cosmic ray energy spectrum and mass composition in the PeV energy ...range. After a short description of the methods of EAS parameter reconstruction, we present the all-particle energy spectrum and results of studying CR composition, based on 3 seasons of array operation. In the last part of the paper, we discuss possible interpretations of the obtained results.
An efficient scheme for one-dimensional extensive air shower simulation and its implementation in the program
conex are presented. Explicit Monte Carlo simulation of the high-energy part of hadronic ...and electro-magnetic cascades in the atmosphere is combined with a numeric solution of cascade equations for smaller energy sub-showers to obtain accurate shower predictions. The developed scheme allows us to calculate not only observables related to the number of particles (shower size) but also ionization energy deposit profiles which are needed for the interpretation of data of experiments employing the fluorescence light technique. We discuss in detail the basic algorithms developed and illustrate the power of the method. It is shown that Monte Carlo, numerical, and hybrid air shower calculations give consistent results which agree very well with those obtained within the
corsika program.
The origin and nature of extreme energy cosmic rays (EECRs), which have energies above the
5
⋅
10
19
eV
—the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) energy limit, is one of the most interesting and complicated ...problems in modern cosmic-ray physics. Existing ground-based detectors have helped to obtain remarkable results in studying cosmic rays before and after the GZK limit, but have also produced some contradictions in our understanding of cosmic ray mass composition. Moreover, each of these detectors covers only a part of the celestial sphere, which poses problems for studying the arrival directions of EECRs and identifying their sources. As a new generation of EECR space detectors, TUS (Tracking Ultraviolet Set-up), KLYPVE and JEM-EUSO, are intended to study the most energetic cosmic-ray particles, providing larger, uniform exposures of the entire celestial sphere. The TUS detector, launched on board the Lomonosov satellite on April 28, 2016 from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia, is the first of these. It employs a single-mirror optical system and a photomultiplier tube matrix as a photo-detector and will test the fluorescent method of measuring EECRs from space. Utilizing the Earth’s atmosphere as a huge calorimeter, it is expected to detect EECRs with energies above
10
20
eV
.
It will also be able to register slower atmospheric transient events: atmospheric fluorescence in electrical discharges of various types including precipitating electrons escaping the magnetosphere and from the radiation of meteors passing through the atmosphere. We describe the design of the TUS detector and present results of different ground-based tests and simulations.
Ultrafine 5 nm ceria isotropic nanoparticles were prepared using the rapid chemical precipitation approach from cerium(III) nitrate and ammonium hydroxide aqueous solutions. The as-prepared ...nanoparticles were shown to contain predominantly Ce(IV) species. The solubility of nanocrystalline CeO2 at several pH values was determined using ICP-MS and radioactive tracer methods. Phase composition of the ceria samples remained unchanged upon partial dissolution, while the shape of the particles changed dramatically, yielding nanorods under neutral pH conditions. According to X-ray absorption spectroscopy investigation of the supernatant, Ce(III) was the main cerium species in solution at pH < 4. Based on the results obtained, a reductive dissolution model was used for data interpretation. According to this model, the solubility product for ceria nanoparticles was determined to be log K sp = −59.3 ± 0.3 in 0.01 M NaClO4. Taken together, our results show that the pH dependence of ceria anti- and pro-oxidant activity can be related to the dissolution of CeO2 in aqueous media.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) mutations are known to participate in the development and progression of ...some CVD. Moreover, specific types of mitochondria-mediated CVD have been discovered, such as MIEH (maternally inherited essential hypertension) and maternally inherited CHD (coronary heart disease). Maternally inherited mitochondrial CVD is caused by certain mutations in the mtDNA, which encode structural mitochondrial proteins and mitochondrial tRNA. In this review, we focus on recently identified mtDNA mutations associated with CVD (coronary artery disease and hypertension). Additionally, new data suggest the role of mtDNA mutations in Brugada syndrome and ischemic stroke, which before were considered only as a result of mutations in nuclear genes. Moreover, we discuss the molecular mechanisms of mtDNA involvement in the development of the disease.
Reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is an important task in a frame of ecology and rational use of natural resources. Uranium, as the main component of SNF (>95%), can be recovered for further ...use as fresh nuclear fuel. To minimize an amount of solid radioactive waste generated during SNF reprocessing, new extractants are under investigation. Diamides of 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid are perspective tetradentate N-donor ligands that form strong complexes with f-elements, which are soluble in polar organic solvents. As an example of three ligands of this class, we conducted a comparative study and showed how the substituent in the amide functional group affects the extraction ability toward uranyl nitrate from nitric acid media. We have performed a careful study (NMR, FT-IR, XRD, RMC-EXAFS) of the structures of synthesized complexes of new ligands with uranyl nitrate and used quantum mechanical calculations to explain the discovered regularities through.
Development of efficient extractants for the separation of actinides and lanthanides in the technologies of nuclear fuel cycle is one of the most urgent and complex tasks in modern nuclear ...energetics. New family of 4,7-dichloro-1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid diamides based on cyclic amines was synthesized and shown to exhibit high selectivity in the La/Am pair separation (SF (Am/La 10)) and in the Am/Eu pair separation (SF (Am/Eu 12)). It was shown that pyrrolidine derived diamide is more efficient extractant for americium, curium and lanthanides from highly acidic HNO
3
solution than its non-cyclic
N
,
N
,
N
′,
N
′-tetraalkyl analogues. The structures of synthesized compounds were studied in details by IR, NMR spectroscopy, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. According to spectroscopy data, incorporation of aromatic rings to the amide fragment of ligand leads to complex dynamic behavior in solutions what is believed to strongly affect the extraction ability of synthesized ligands.
Some unexpected "structure-extraction properties" patterns were found for new family of 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-diamide derived ligands.
The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, the crucial regulator of angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, lipid metabolism and inflammation, is involved in the development of atherosclerosis ...and further CVDs (cardiovascular diseases). This review discusses the general regulation and functions of VEGFs, their role in lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis development and progression. These functions present the great potential of applying the VEGF family as a target in the treatment of atherosclerosis and related CVDs. In addition, we discuss several modern anti-atherosclerosis VEGFs-targeted experimental procedures, drugs and natural compounds, which could significantly improve the efficiency of atherosclerosis and related CVDs' treatment.