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At least 451 records · Page 25

The Influence of Shielding on the Biological Effectiveness of Accelerated Particles for the Induction of Chromosome Damage

Chromosome damage was assessed in human peripheral blood lymphocytes after in vitro exposure to the either Si-28 (490 or 600 MeV/n), Ti-48 (1000 MeV/n), or Fe-56 (600, 1000, or 5000 MeV/n). LET values for these ions ranged from 51 to 184 keV/micron and doses ranged from 10 to 200 cGy. The effect of either aluminum or polyethylene shielding on the induction of chromosome aberrations was investigated for each ion. Chromosome exchanges were measured using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with whole chromosome probes in cells collected at G2 and mitosis in first division post irradiation after chromosomes were prematurely condensed using calyculin-A. The yield of chromosomal aberrations increased linearly with dose and the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for the primary beams, estimated from the initial slope of the dose response curve for total chromosomal exchanges with respect to gamma-rays, ranged from 9 to 35. The RBE values increased with LET, reaching a maximum for the 600 MeV/n Fe ions with LET of 184 keV/micron. When the LET of the primary beam was below approximately 100 keV/micron, the addition of shielding material increased the effectiveness per unit dose. Whereas shielding decreased the effectiveness per unit dose when the LET of primary beams was higher than 100 keV/micron. The yield of aberrations correlated with the dose-average LET of the beam after traversal through the shielding.

Goeorge, Kerry↗

The Influence of Shielding on the Biological Effectiveness of Accelerated Particles for the Induction of Chromosome Damages

Chromosome damage was assessed in human peripheral blood lymphocytes after in vitro exposure to the either Si-28 (490 or 600 MeV/n), Ti-48 (1000 MeV/n), or Fe-56 (600, 1000, or 5000 MeV/n). LET values for these ions ranged from approximately 50 to 174 keV/micrometers and doses ranged from 10 to 200 cGy. The effect of either aluminum or polyethylene shielding on the induction of chromosome aberrations was investigated for each ion. Chromosome exchanges were measured using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with whole chromosome probes in cells collected 48-56 hours after irradiation using a chemical-induced premature chromosome condensation (PCC) technique. The yield of chromosomal aberrations increased linearly with dose and the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for the primary beams, estimated from the initial slope of the dose response curve for total chromosomal exchanges with respect to gamma-rays, ranged from 14 to 35. The RBE values increased with LET, reaching a maximum for the 1 GeV/n Fe ions with LET of 150 keV/micrometers, and decreased with further increases in LET. When LET of the primary beam was in the region of increasing RBE (i.e. below approximately 100 keV/micrometers), the addition of shielding material increased the effectiveness per unit dose. Whereas shielding decreased the effectiveness per unit dose when the LET of the primary particle beam was higher than 150 keV/micrometers.

George, K.↗

Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes due to Particle Acceleration in Tropical Storm Systems

Terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) are submillisecond flashes of energetic radiation that are believed to emanate from intracloud lightning inside thunderstorms. This emission can be detected hundreds of kilometers from the source by space-based observatories such as the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi). The location of the TGF-producing storms can be determined using very low frequency (VLF) radio measurements made simultaneously with the Fermi detection, allowing additional insight into the mechanisms which produce these phenomena. In this paper, we report 37 TGFs originating from tropical storm systems for the first time. Previous studies to gain insight into how tropical cyclones formed and how destructive they can be include the investigation of lightning flash rates and their dependence on storm evolution. We find TGFs to emanate from a broad range of distances from the storm centers. In hurricanes and severe tropical cyclones, the TGFs are observed to occur predominately from the outer rainbands. A majority of our sample also show TGFs occurring during the strengthening phase of the encompassing storm system. These results verify that TGF production closely follows when and where lightning predominately occurs in cyclones. The intrinsic characteristics of these TGFs were not found to differ from other TGFs reported in larger samples. We also find that some TGF-producing storm cells in tropical storm systems far removed from land have a low number of WWLLN sferics. Although not unique to tropical cyclones, this TGF/sferic ratio may imply a high efficiency for the lightning in these storms to generate TGFs.

Roberts, O. S.↗

Upstream Ultra-Low Frequency Waves Observed by MESSENGER's Magnetometer: Implications for Particle Acceleration at Mercury's Bow Shock

We perform the first statistical analysis of the main properties of waves observed in the 0.05–0.41 Hz frequency range in the Hermean foreshock by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) Magnetometer. Although we find similar polarization properties to the “30 second” waves observed at the Earth's foreshock, the normalized wave amplitude (δ B /|B0| ∼0.2) and occurrence rate (∼0.5%) are much smaller. This could be associated with relatively lower backstreaming proton fluxes, the smaller foreshock size and/or less stable solar wind (SW) conditions around Mercury. Furthermore, we estimate that the speed of resonant backstreaming protons in the SW reference frame (likely source for these waves) ranges between 0.95 and 2.6 times the SW speed. The closeness between this range and what is observed at other planetary foreshocks suggests that similar acceleration processes are responsible for this energetic population and might be present in the shocks of exoplanets.

N. Romanelli↗