Measurements of electron, muon and hadron lateral distributions of extensive air showers as recorded in the Karlsruhe shower core and array detector experiment are presented. The data cover the ...energy range from 5×10
14 eV up to almost 10
17 eV and extend from the inner core region to distances of 200 m. The electron and muon distributions are corrected for mutual contaminations by taking into account the detector properties in the experiment. All distributions are well described by NKG functions. The scale radii describing the electron and hadron data best are ≃30 and ≃10 m, respectively. We discuss the correlation between the scale radii and the `age' parameter as well as their dependence on shower size, zenith angle, and particle energy threshold.
This report describes the clinical features and outcome of 61 pediatric hospitalized patients with influenza-like infection. Fever, cough and respiratory distress were the most common symptoms of the ...infection. Fifteen patients presented positive RT-PCR results for influenza A (H1N1). The group with positive results was compared with the negative one. The main significant difference was antibiotic usage and the need of mechanical ventilation in the patients with H1N1-virus infection. Among the 11 patients who required intensive care due to respiratory failure, 3 from the positive group died and none from the negative group.
The experiment KASCADE observes simultaneously the electron–photon, muon, and hadron components of high-energy extensive air showers (EAS). The analysis of EAS observables for an estimate of energy ...and mass of the primary particle invokes extensive Monte Carlo simulations of the EAS development for preparing reference patterns. The present studies utilize the air shower simulation code
corsika with the hadronic interaction models VENUS, QGSJet and Sibyll, including simulations of the detector response and efficiency. By applying non-parametric techniques the measured data have been analyzed in an event-by-event mode and the mass and energy of the EAS inducing particles are reconstructed. Special emphasis is given to methodical limitations and the dependence of the results on the hadronic interaction model used. The results obtained from KASCADE data reproduce the knee in the primary spectrum, but reveal a strong model dependence. Owing to the systematic uncertainties introduced by the hadronic interaction models no strong change of chemical composition can be claimed in the energy range around the knee.
Central post stroke pain (CPSP) is a highly refractory syndrome that can occur after stroke. Primary motor cortex (M1) brain stimulation using epidural brain stimulation (EBS), transcranial magnetic ...stimulation (TMS), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have been explored as potential therapies for CPSP. These techniques have demonstrated variable clinical efficacy. It is hypothesized that changes in the stimulating currents that are caused by stroke-induced changes in brain tissue conductivity limit the efficacy of these techniques.
We generated MRI-guided finite element models of the current density distributions in the human head and brain with and without chronic focal cortical infarctions during EBS, TMS, and tDCS. We studied the change in the stimulating current density distributions' magnitude, orientation, and maxima locations between the different models.
Changes in electrical properties at stroke boundaries altered the distribution of stimulation currents in magnitude, location, and orientation. Current density magnitude alterations were larger for the non-invasive techniques (i.e., tDCS and TMS) than for EBS. Nonetheless, the lesion also altered currents during EBS. The spatial shift of peak current density, relative to the size of the stimulation source, was largest for EBS.
In order to maximize therapeutic efficiency, neurostimulation trials need to account for the impact of anatomically disrupted neural tissues on the location, orientation, and magnitude of exogenously applied currents. The relative current-neuronal structure should be considered when planning stimulation treatment, especially across techniques (e.g., using TMS to predict EBS response). We postulate that the effects of altered tissue properties in stroke regions may impact stimulation induced analgesic effects and/or lead to highly variable outcomes during brain stimulation treatments in CPSP.
The muon detection facilities of the Central Detector of the cosmic ray experiment KASCADE(-Grande) have been extended by a system of limited streamer tube (LST) detectors, recently brought into ...operation. This detector system improves the efficiency and the multiplicity resolution of the high-energy muon detection by the setup of large-area position sensitive wire proportional chambers (MWPC) of the Central Detector, currently used in extensive air showers (EAS) investigations of KASCADE. The present work describes the technical layout and operation of the LST system, the methods and procedures for studying the characteristics and performance of this detector component, and the reconstruction of basic EAS observables: the total number, the density and the spatial distributions of EAS particles registered with the LST system. Special emphasis is put on the discussion of the uncertainties. Average number of hits as well as muon number (for Eμ>2.4GeV) and density spectra are presented for illustrating the operation of the LST. The information about the spatial pattern is parameterized in terms of fractal moments. The information content of the EAS observables of the LST system is demonstrated using Monte Carlo simulations with the program CORSIKA.
The series of Er sub(2-x)Ho sub(x)Fe sub(14)B (x = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0) intermetallic compounds was studied in order to investigate different types of spin arrangements expected in this series. The ...variety of processes connected with spin reorientation, especially transition through conical spin arrangements was of special interest. The compounds have been measured with super(57)Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy over the temperature range 5.2-320 K. Each compound was studied with precise Mossbauer scanning in the vicinity of the transition. A special fitting procedure of Mossbauer spectra, enabling to analyze up to ten spectra simultaneously, was developed to determine the arrangement of spins. The path of spin rotation was proposed. The results were verified and compared by applying computer simulations based on the Yamada-Kato model. The spin arrangement diagram was constructed. Obtained results are convincing enough to conclude that Mossbauer spectroscopy can be very helpful in studies of tilt angle in conical spin arrangements in the studied type compounds.
The data set of the Warta discharges in PoznaÅ (Poland) is one of the largest in the world as the daily observations of river stages have been conducted without interruptions since January, 1Ë¢áµ, ...1822. The PoznaÅ measurement profile is situated in the 243.6 km and closes the catchment area of approximately 25 thousand square kilometers. The data used as the input in the paper were daily values of the Warta discharges in PoznaÅ in the years 1822-2012. The climate in PoznaÅ, a city situated in the centre of the Wielkopolska (Greater Poland) region, is relatively stable (Miler et al. 2005). Also the Warta River runoff shows considerable stability, especially in terms of mean annual values. Short-term trends are random in character. It was found that the Jeziorsko reservoir (total storage volume of 203 000 000 m³, officially put to use on September, 9áµÊ°, 1987) significantly reduced daily variability of the flows and reduced peak discharge of the flood wave in the summer of 1997 on the Warta River at PoznaÅ. The calculated periodogram for mean annual discharges of the Warta River in PoznaÅ shows that there are main periodicities of ca. 10 year lengths. The research of the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection (WIOÅ) in PoznaÅ shows a gradual improvement of water quality in the Warta River in PoznaÅ.
A composition analysis of KASCADE air shower data is performed by means of unfolding the two-dimensional frequency spectrum of electron and muon numbers. Aim of the analysis is the determination of ...energy spectra for elemental groups representing the chemical composition of primary cosmic rays. Since such an analysis depends crucially on simulations of air showers the two different hadronic interaction models QGSJet and SIBYLL are used for their generation. The resulting primary energy spectra show that the knee in the all particle spectrum is due to a steepening of the spectra of light elements but, also, that neither of the two simulation sets is able to describe the measured data consistently over the whole energy range with discrepancies appearing in different energy regions.
The potentially distressing nature of both the symptoms of psychosis and its treatment (i.e., hospitalisation) can have a traumatic impact upon the individual. This pilot study investigates this ...relationship in 20 outpatients hospitalised for psychosis within the past year. All participated in a research interview. Five participants (25%) met criteria for Post‐Psychotic PTSD. Overall trauma levels were related significantly to the total number of different types of previous traumatic events experienced, the distress associated with police conveyance to their most recent psychiatric hospitalisation, and the total number of experiences related to harm to self/others during their most recent hospitalisation. The implications of these findings are discussed.
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