Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “COSMIC RADIATION”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,333 records · Page 74Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Simulations of an accelerator-based shielding experiment using the particle and heavy-ion transport code system PHITS.

In order to estimate the biological effects of HZE particles, an accurate knowledge of the physics of interaction of HZE particles is necessary. Since the heavy ion transport problem is a complex one, there is a need for both experimental and theoretical studies to develop accurate transport models. RIST and JAERI (Japan), GSI (Germany) and Chalmers (Sweden) are therefore currently developing and bench marking the General-Purpose Particle and Heavy-Ion Transport code System (PHITS), which is based on the NMTC and MCNP for nucleon/meson and neutron transport respectively, and the JAM hadron cascade model. PHITS uses JAERI Quantum Molecular Dynamics (JQMD) and the Generalized Evaporation Model (GEM) for calculations of fission and evaporation processes, a model developed at NASA Langley for calculation of total reaction cross sections, and the SPAR model for stopping power calculations. The future development of PHITS includes better parameterization in the JQMD model used for the nucleus-nucleus reactions, and improvement of the models used for calculating total reaction cross sections, and addition of routines for calculating elastic scattering of heavy ions, and inclusion of radioactivity and burn up processes. As a part of an extensive bench marking of PHITS, we have compared energy spectra of secondary neutrons created by reactions of HZE particles with different targets, with thicknesses ranging from <1 to 200 cm. We have also compared simulated and measured spatial, fluence and depth-dose distributions from different high energy heavy ion reactions. In this paper, we report simulations of an accelerator-based shielding experiment, in which a beam of 1 GeV/n Fe-ions has passed through thin slabs of polyethylene, Al, and Pb at an acceptance angle up to 4 degrees.

Aluminum↗
PubMed2005

The FLUKA code: new developments and application to 1 GeV/n iron beams.

The modeling of ion transport and interactions in matter is a subject of growing interest, driven by the continuous increase of possible application fields. These include hadron therapy, dosimetry, and space missions, but there are also several issues involving fundamental research, accelerator physics, and cosmic ray physics, where a reliable description of heavy ion induced cascades is important. In the present work, the capabilities of the FLUKA code for ion beams will be briefly recalled and some recent developments presented. Applications of the code to the simulation of therapeutic carbon, nitrogen and oxygen ion beams, and of iron beams, which are of direct interest for space mission related experiments, will be also presented together with interesting consideration relative to the evaluation of dosimetric quantities. Both applications involve ion beams in the AGeV range.

Carbon↗
PubMed2005

Computational methods for the HZETRN code.

Asymptotic expansion has been used to simplify the transport of high charge and energy ions for broad beam applications in the laboratory and space. The solution of the lowest order asymptotic term is then related to a Green's function for energy loss and straggling coupled to nuclear attenuation providing the lowest order term in a rapidly converging Neumann series for which higher order collisions terms are related to the fragmentation events including energy dispersion and downshift. The first and second Neumann corrections were evaluated numerically as a standard for further analytic approximation. The first Neumann correction is accurately evaluated over the saddle point whose width is determined by the energy dispersion and located at the downshifted ion collision energy. Introduction of the first Neumann correction leads to significant simplification of the second correction term allowing application of the mean value theorem and a second saddle point approximation. The regular dependence of the second correction spectral dependence lends hope to simple approximation to higher corrections. At sufficiently high energy nuclear cross-section variations are small allowing non-perturbative methods to all orders and renormalization of the second corrections allow accurate evaluation of the full Neumann series.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

A mutational analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans in space.

The International Caenorhabditis elegans Experiment First Flight (ICE-First) was a project using C. elegans as a model organism to study the biological effects of short duration spaceflight (11 days in the International Space Station). As a member of the ICE-First research team, our group focused on the mutational effects of spaceflight. Several approaches were taken to measure mutational changes that occurred during the spaceflight including measurement of the integrity of poly-G/poly-C tracts, determination of the mutation frequency in the unc-22 gene, analysis of lethal mutations captured by the genetic balancer eT1(III;V), and identification of alterations in telomere length. By comparing the efficiency, sensitivity, and convenience of these methods, we deduced that the eT1 balancer system is well-suited for capturing, maintaining and recovering mutational events that occur over several generations during spaceflight. In the course of this experiment, we have extended the usefulness of the eT1 balancer system by identifying the physical breakpoints of the eT1 translocation and have developed a PCR assay to follow the eT1 chromosomes. C. elegans animals were grown in a defined liquid media during the spaceflight. This is the first analysis of genetic changes in C. elegans grown in the defined media. Although no significant difference in mutation rate was detected between spaceflight and control samples, which is not surprising given the short duration of the spaceflight, we demonstrate here the utility of worms as an integrating biological dosimeter for spaceflight.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Ar-Ar chronology of the Martian meteorite ALH84001: evidence for the timing of the early bombardment of Mars.

ALH84001, a cataclastic cumulate orthopyroxenite meteorite from Mars, has been dated by Ar-Ar stepped heating and laser probe methods. Both methods give ages close to 3,900 Ma. The age calculated is dependent on assumptions made about 39Ar recoil effects and on whether significant quantities of 40Ar from the Martian atmosphere are trapped in the meteorite. If, as suggested by xenon and nitrogen isotope studies, Martian atmospheric argon is present, then it must reside predominantly in the K-rich phase maskelynite. Independently determined 129Xe abundances in the maskelynite can be used to place limits on the concentration of the atmospheric 40Ar. These indicate a reduction of around 80 Ma to ages calculated on the assumption that no Martian atmosphere is present. After this correction, the nominal ages obtained are: 3940 +/- 50, 3870 +/- 80, and 3970 +/- 100 Ma. by stepped heating, and 3900 +/- 90 Ma by laser probe (1 sigma statistical errors), giving a weighted mean value of 3,920 Ma. Ambiguities in the interpretation of 39Ar recoil effects and in the contribution of Martian atmospheric 40Ar lead to uncertainties in the Ar-Ar age which are difficult to quantify, but we suggest that the true value lies somewhere between 4,050 and 3,800 Ma. This age probably dates a period of annealing of the meteorite subsequent to the shock event which gave it its cataclastic texture. The experiments provide the first evidence of an event occurring on Mars coincident with the time of the late heavy bombardment of the Moon and may reflect a similar period of bombardment in the Southern Highlands of Mars. Whether the age determined bears any relationship to the time of carbonate deposition in ALH84001 is not known. Such a link depends on whether the temperature associated with the metasomatic activity was sufficient to cause argon loss from the maskelynite and/or whether the metasomatism and metamorphism were linked in time through a common heat source.

Argon↗
PubMed2000

Environmental radioactivity: experience from the 20th century--trends and issues for the 21st century.

Environmental radioactivity has been an important area of research throughout the 20th century, with recent work having been stimulated mainly by: (i) the remarkable power of radionuclides as tracers of the rates and mechanisms of environmental processes and (ii) the potential health implications of contaminant radionuclides in the environment. A review is presented of salient aspects of environmental radioactivity, including consideration of tracer applications, sources and environmental impact of anthropogenic radionuclides, radioactive waste disposal and future exploitation of nuclear energy.

Cosmic Radiation↗
PubMed2003

Main results and experience obtained on Mir space station and experiment program for Russian segment of ISS.

This article presents main scientific and practical results obtained in course of scientific and applied research and experiments on Mir space station. Based on Mir experience, processes of research program formation for the Russian Segment of the ISS are briefly described. The major trends of activities planned in the frames of these programs as well as preliminary results of increment research programs implementation in the ISS' first missions are also presented.

Aerospace Medicine↗
PubMed1997

Immune organs and haemopoietic system under modelling of the mission factors.

Literary and experimental data on the character of changes in immune organs and lymphoid tissue of respiratory system and digestive system in laboratory animals during the mission factors model area given. Inhibition of reproductive function in bone marrow, thymus and spleen under irradiation of gamma-rays and accelerated carbon ions, tensity of immune response in the lymphoid structures of larynx, trachea and bronchi under the influence of acetaldehyde vapors and decrease of lymphoid tissue square on histological series in spleen and small intestine with an increase of concentration of microbial bodies in the drinking water were estimated.

Acetaldehyde↗
PubMed2002

A simple model for straggling evaluation.

Some straggling models had largely been abandoned in favor of Monte Carlo simulations of straggling which are accurate but time consuming, limiting their application in practice. The difficulty of simple analytic models is the failure to give accurate values past 85% of the particle range. A simple model is derived herein based on a second order approximation upon which rapid analysis tools are developed for improved understanding of material charged particle transmission properties.

Alpha Particles↗
PubMed1987

A semiempirical nuclear fragmentation model.

An abrasion/ablation model of heavy ion fragmentation is derived which includes a second order correction for the surface energy term and provides a reasonable representation of the present elemental fragmentation cross sections. The full development of the model must await the resolution of disagreement among different experiments and an expansion of the experimental data base to a broader set of projectile-target combinations.

Carbon↗
PubMed2004

Concentration measurements of 7Be at ground level air at Palermo, Italy-comparison with solar activity over a period of 21 years.

Air activity concentrations of (7)Be in Palermo determined for the period January 1995-December 2002 by gamma-ray spectrometric analysis of particulate samples collected on paper filter by a high-volume sampler (approximately 900 m(3) h(-1)) are reported. The temporal behaviour of (7)Be concentration presents the same characteristics already observed in the measurements carried out over the previous 13-year (1982-1994) investigated period. The mean value of 5.06 mBq m(-3) obtained from the analysis of the 4636 particulate samples collected from 1982 to 2002 can be considered a representative value of (7)Be air concentration at ground level in our geographical zone. The comparison of long-term variation in the (7)Be concentrations with the cyclic solar activity-extended to the whole period of 21 years-confirms the inverse correlation between the two quantities.

Beryllium↗
PubMed2001

Large-size space laboratory for biological orbit experiments.

The study of space factors on living systems has great interest and long-term experiments during orbital flight will be important tool for increasing our knowledge. Realization of such experiments is limited by constraints of modern space stations. A new technology of large-size space laboratory for biological experiments has been developed on the basis of polymerization techniques. Using this technique there are no limits of form and size of laboratory for a space station that will permit long term experiments on Earth orbit with plants and animals in sufficient volume for creation of closed self-regulating ecological systems. The technology is based on experiments of the behavior of polymer materials in simulated free space conditions during the reaction of polymerization. The influences of space vacuum, sharp temperature changes and space plasma generated by galactic rays and Sun irradiation on chemical reaction were evaluated in their impact on liquid organic materials in laboratory conditions. The results of our study shows, that the chemical reaction is sensitive to such space factors. But we believe that the technology of polymerization could be used for the creation of space biological laboratories in Earth orbit in the near future.

Cosmic Radiation↗
PubMed2001

Statistical analyses of influence of solar and geomagnetic activities on car accident events.

Statistical analyses of the influence of Solar and geomagnetic activity, sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field and galactic cosmic ray Forbush effects on car accident events in Poland for the period of 1990-1999 have been carried out. Using auto-correlation, cross-correlation, spectral analyses and superposition epochs methods it has been shown that there are separate periods when car accident events have direct correlation with Ap index of the geomagnetic activity, sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field and Forbush decreases of galactic cosmic rays. Nevertheless, the single-valued direct correlation is not possible to reveal for the whole period of 1990-1999. Periodicity of 7 days and its second harmonic (3.5 days) has been reliably revealed in the car accident events data in Poland for the each year of the period 1990-1999. It is shown that the maximum car accident events take place in Poland on Friday and practically does not depend on the level of solar and geomagnetic activities.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2001

Electric currents induced inside biological cells by geomagnetic and atmospheric phenomena.

An increasing number of studies have appeared in the last ten years indicating that some pathologies may correlate with geomagnetic activity and cosmic rays. However a physical mechanism binding both phenomena has not been proposed. In the present work we obtain the amplitude of the magnetic fields at different frequencies, that may induce inside biological cells currents of the same magnitude of the currents generated by the cells themselves. We compare these values with the wave amplitudes produced in geomagnetic and atmospheric phenomena, and found that micropulsations, whistlers and lightning are capable of produce the same or larger values.

Cell Physiological Phenomena↗
PubMed2001

The effects of microgravity on induced mutation in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We examined whether microgravity influences the induced-mutation frequencies through in vivo experiments during space flight aboard the space shuttle Discovery (STS-91). We prepared dried samples of repair-deficient strains and parental strains of Escherichia (E.) coli and Saccharomyces (S.) cerevisiae given DNA damage treatment. After culture in space, we measured the induced-mutation frequencies and SOS-responses under microgravity. The experimental findings indicate that almost the same induced-mutation frequencies and SOS-responses of space samples were observed in both strains compared with the ground control samples. It is suggested that microgravity might not influence induced-mutation frequencies and SOS-responses at the stages of DNA replication and/or DNA repair. In addition, we developed a new experimental apparatus for space experiments to culture and freeze stocks of E. coli and S. cerevisiae cells.

Alkylating Agents↗
PubMed2002

The dependence of solar energetic particle fluxes in the Earth-Mars-Earth route on solar activity period.

This report presents the results of analyzing the relative importance of particle fluxes of different origin in the Earth-Mars-Earth route during different solar activity periods. The analysis has been made in terms of the galactic cosmic ray and solar energetic particle flux models developed at Moscow State University. The results demonstrate the extreme importance of the high-energy solar particle fluxes in interplanetary space even during the years of "quiet" Sun.

Cosmic Radiation↗