European Union regulations that establish the maximum cadmium (Cd) levels for crab take into account only concentrations found in crab muscle (white meat), mainly from appendages; therefore, other ...organs and tissues (brown meat) are excluded. The objective of the present study was to evaluate Cd levels in both white and brown crab meat, in order to achieve a more complete assessment of health risk related to human consumption of warty crab. Microwave digestion and atomic absorption spectrometry were used to determine Cd concentrations in warty crab (Eriphia verrucosa) samples collected from the southern Tyrrhenian Sea in Italy. Cd concentrations in all samples of white crab meat were found to be very low (below the limit of quantification), although brown crab meat showed significantly higher Cd concentrations (up to 5.629 mg/kg wet weight; mean value, 1.465 mg/kg). Thus, the consumption of brown meat, common among certain populations of the Mediterranean region, where whole crustaceans are traditionally eaten, substantially increased Cd intake, resulting in alarmingly high estimated weekly intake values.
sPHENIX is a new experiment under construction for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory which will study the quark-gluon plasma to further the understanding of ...quantum chromodynamics (QCP) matter and interactions. A prototype of the sPHENIX electromagnetic calorimeter (EMCal) was tested at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility in Spring 2018 as experiment T-1044. The EMCal prototype corresponds to a solid angle of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\Delta \eta \times \Delta \phi = 0.2 \times 0.2 </tex-math></inline-formula> centered at pseudo-rapidity <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\eta = 1 </tex-math></inline-formula>. The prototype consists of scintillating fibers embedded in a mix of tungsten powder and epoxy. The fibers project back approximately to the center of the sPHENIX detector, giving 2-D projectivity. The energy response of the EMCal prototype was studied as a function of position and input energy. The energy resolution of the EMCal prototype was obtained after applying a position-dependent energy correction and a beam profile correction. Two separate position-dependent corrections were considered. The EMCal energy resolution was found to be <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\sigma (E)/\langle E\rangle = 3.5(0.1) \oplus 13.3(0.2)/\sqrt {E} </tex-math></inline-formula> based on the hodoscope position-dependent correction, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\sigma (E)/\langle E\rangle = 3.0(0.1) \oplus 15.4(0.3)/\sqrt {E} </tex-math></inline-formula> based on the cluster position-dependent correction. These energy resolution results meet the requirements of the sPHENIX physics program.
Fish is a good source of nutrients for humans but can pose a risk to human health because of the possible presence of some xenobiotics such as heavy metals and persistent organic contaminants. ...Constant monitoring is needed to minimize health risks and ensure product quality and consumer safety. The aim of the present study was to use atomic absorption spectrometry to determine the concentrations of some heavy metals (Hg, Pb, and Cd) in tuna packaged in different kinds of packages (cans or glass) in various countries (Italy and elsewhere). Concentrations of Cd and Hg were within the limits set by European Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 and in many samples were below the detection limit. Pb concentrations exceeded European limits in 9.8% of the analyzed samples. These results are reassuring in terms of food safety but highlighted the need to constantly monitor the concentrations of heavy metals in fish products that could endanger consumer health.
In this research compositional changes of tinplate-canned tomato purées, with or without the addition of essential onion oil were investigated. The study was focused on the analyses of carbohydrates ...and carboxylic acids in two groups of canned samples (with or without nitrates) to determine whether their chemical composition was affected with storage time. The measurements were performed by high performance liquid chromatography, during six months of storage. The contents of glucose, fructose and two major organic acids, citric and malic, were found in the concentration range 1.77–1.97%, 1.86–2.09%, 0.60–0.75% and 0.23–0.30%, respectively, in all canned samples. Compared to carbohydrates and organic acids, amino acids were found in minor quantities, among them, as most abundant ones were glutamic acid, arginine, aspartic and γ-amino butyric acids. The results show that contents of carbohydrates and carboxylic acids are significantly affected by the change of storage time in majority of analyzed samples. The results also indicated that the influence of essential onion oil on composition of canned tomato purée is within the range of changes due to storage time measured for all other types of cans. Therefore the addition of essential onion oil as natural efficient corrosion inhibitor, as it was found in our previous work, can be recommended for canned tomato purée.
A new electromagnetic calorimeter is being designed for the sPHENIX experiment at RHIC which consists of a tungsten powder and epoxy absorber with embedded scintillating fibers that are read out with ...SiPMs through short acrylic light guides. The light guides must be as short as possible in order that the calorimeter fit inside the spectrometer magnet of the sPHENIX experiment. In addition, a high degree of segmentation is required in order to measure photons and jets in heavy ion collisions, thus leading to a large number of individual towers with approximately 25K light guides. These requirements present numerous challenges in terms of achieving good light collection efficiency and uniformity from the absorber blocks which is necessary to obtain good energy resolution from the calorimeter. We have tested different versions of simple trapezoidal light guides on prototype calorimeters in beam tests conducted at Fermilab, and also utilized a simulation program to study more complicated light guide geometries and compared them to measurements in the laboratory. We will present the results of these studies and discuss our findings on how to implement an optimal light guide design on the sPHENIX electromagnetic calorimeter.
The behavior of concentrated aqueous suspensions containing cube-shaped particles (with edges of 1 cm) in tube flow has been investigated. Both the liquid and the solid phase residence time ...distributions were measured. In the case of the liquid phase, the pulse method was used by introducing as a tracer an aqueous solution containing citric acid and recording the pH variation of the liquid at the outlet section of the pipe. A step method was used for the solid phase in which potato cubes, previously colored by dipping them in a solution of ethyl alcohol and iodine, served as a tracer and the residence times of the particles were measured by video recording the particles through a transparent window positioned at the outlet of the pipe. The variables studied were flow rate and particle concentration. It has been found that the presence of the particles modifies the residence time distribution of the fluid. In particular, as the particle concentration increases, the mean residence time of the liquid phase increases and the flow regime departs from ideal plug flow. It has, also, proved that both flow rate and solid concentration affect the residence time distribution of the solid phase. With increasing flow rate, as well as with increasing solid content of the suspension, the residence time distribution of the solid phase approaches that of the liquid phase. Consequently, the particle mean residence time decreases and the flow regime of the solid phase approaches ideal plug flow.
A Novel Laser Guidance System for Calibrating the sPHENIX TPC Azmoun, B.; Cacace, D.; Corliss, R. ...
2023 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, Medical Imaging Conference and International Symposium on Room-Temperature Semiconductor Detectors (NSS MIC RTSD),
2023-Nov.-4
Conference Proceeding
A time projection chamber (TPC) is the main tracking detector for the sPHENIX experiment, which recently completed installation at Brookhaven National Laboratory's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. ...The TPC is a high precision device that must rely on several independent calibration schemes to correct for significant modifications to particle tracks by non-uniformities in both the electric and magnetic fields in the drift region, including ExB effects. These complications typically arise from mechanical misalignments of the field cage and space charge build-up from ion back flow. To address these issues, one prong of the calibration strategy is to introduce multiple laser beams into the TPC active volume to establish lines of ionization that serve as absolute calibration references. Once collections of tracks in different regions are analyzed, a correction model may be established. Due to rate limitations, the system described here is specifically suited to address static or slowly evolving distortions, mostly associated with mechanical defects. We report on a novel laser beam guidance system that accomplishes this task by steering a single beam over a very large angular range within the TPC, without the need for establishing a complicated web of fixed beams, as has been done by other experiments. By utilizing four laser beams on each endcap, this system allows almost the full drift region to be sampled with multiple laser track crossings at each space point. At the conference the TPC Line Laser System will be described in detail and several key performance characteristics that are vital to operating the TPC will be presented.
Fibrous Solitary Tumors are infrequent neoplasms originating from mesenchymal tissues, most commonly arising from the visceral pleura and frequently exhibiting a benign behavior. Extra-pleural ...localization is unusual and the site of origin of these tumors from the parenchyma of the parotid gland is considered extremely rare. We report the case of a 66-years old woman with non-painful slow-growing left latero-cervical mass, who underwent a gadolinium-enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging showing a mass originating from the deep lobe of the parotid gland extending into the retro-pharyngeal space. After a total parotidectomy with tumor excision, a diagnosis of histologically proven fibrous solitary tumor of the parotid gland was made. Two years later, CT scan showed post-operative recurrence and further satellite localization in the neck, distant from the initial mass. We performed a literature review of the published similar cases, in order to clinicopathological and imaging features of this rare entity.
The sPHENIX Time Projection Chamber Outer Tracker (TPOT) is a Micromegas based detector. It is a part of the sPHENIX experiment that aims to facilitate the calibration of the Time Projection Chamber, ...in particular the correction of the time-averaged and beam-induced distortions of the electron drift. This paper describes the detector mission, setup, construction, installation, commissioning and performance during the first year of sPHENIX data taking.
sPHENIX is a new experiment under construction for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory which will study the quark-gluon plasma to further the understanding of QCD ...matter and interactions. A prototype of the sPHENIX electromagnetic calorimeter (EMCal) was tested at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility in Spring 2018 as experiment T-1044. The EMCal prototype corresponds to a solid angle of \( \Delta \eta \times \Delta \phi = 0.2 \times 0.2\) centered at pseudo-rapidity \(\eta = 1\). The prototype consists of scintillating fibers embedded in a mix of tungsten powder and epoxy. The fibers project back approximately to the center of the sPHENIX detector, giving 2D projectivity. The energy response of the EMCal prototype was studied as a function of position and input energy. The energy resolution of the EMCal prototype was obtained after applying a position dependent energy correction and a beam profile correction. Two separate position dependent corrections were considered. The EMCal energy resolution was found to be \(\sigma(E)/\langle E\rangle = 3.5(0.1) \oplus 13.3(0.2)/\sqrt{E}\) based on the hodoscope position dependent correction, and \(\sigma(E)/\langle E\rangle = 3.0(0.1) \oplus 15.4(0.3)/\sqrt{E}\) based on the cluster position dependent correction. These energy resolution results meet the requirements of the sPHENIX physics program.
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