Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “IONIZING RADIATIONS”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

NMR Metabolomics in Ionizing Radiation

Ionizing radiation is an invisible threat that cannot be seen, touched or smelled and exist either as particles or waves. Particle radiation can take the form of alpha, beta or neutrons, as well as high energy space particle radiation such as high energy iron, carbon and proton radiation, etc. (1) Non-particle radiation includes gamma- and x-rays. Publically, there is a growing concern about the adverse health effects due to ionizing radiation mainly because of the following facts. (a) The X-ray diagnostic images are taken routinely on patients. Even though the overall dosage from a single X-ray image such as a chest X-ray scan or a CT scan, also called X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT), is low, repeated usage can cause serious health consequences, in particular with the possibility of developing cancer (2, 3). (b) Human space exploration has gone beyond moon and is planning to send human to the orbit of Mars by the mid-2030s. And a landing on Mars will follow.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2014

The susceptibility of TaO x -based memristors to high dose rate ionizing radiation and total ionizing dose

This paper investigates the effects of high dose rate ionizing radiation and total ionizing dose (TID) on tantalum oxide (TaO x ) memristors. Transient data were obtained during the pulsed exposures for dose rates ranging from approximately 5.0 ×10 7 rad(Si)/s to 4.7 ×10 8 rad(Si)/s and for pulse widths ranging from 50 ns to 50 μs. The cumulative dose in these tests did not appear to impact the observed dose rate response. Static dose rate upset tests were also performed at a dose rate of ~3.0 ×10 8 rad(Si)/s. This is the first dose rate study on any type of memristive memory technology. In addition to assessing the tolerance of TaO x memristors to high dose rate ionizing radiation, we also evaluated their susceptibility to TID. The data indicate that it is possible for the devices to switch from a high resistance off-state to a low resistance on-state in both dose rate and TID environments. The observed radiation-induced switching is dependent on the irradiation conditions and bias configuration. Furthermore, the dose rate or ionizing dose level at which a device switches resistance states varies from device to device; the enhanced susceptibility observed in some devices is still under investigation. As a result, numerical simulations are used to qualitatively capture the observed transient radiation response and provide insight into the physics of the induced current/voltages.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Dwarf galaxies with ionizing radiation feedback. II. Spatially resolved star formation relation

We investigate the spatially resolved star formation relation using a galactic disk formed in a comprehensive high-resolution (3.8 pc) simulation. Our new implementation of stellar feedback includes ionizing radiation as well as supernova explosions, and we handle ionizing radiation by solving the radiative transfer equation rather than by a subgrid model. Photoheating by stellar radiation stabilizes gas against Jeans fragmentation, reducing the star formation rate (SFR). Because we have self-consistently calculated the location of ionized gas, we are able to make simulated, spatially resolved observations of star formation tracers, such as Hα emission. We can also observe how stellar feedback manifests itself in the correlation between ionized and molecular gas. Applying our techniques to the disk in a galactic halo of 2.3 × 10{sup 11} M {sub ☉}, we find that the correlation between SFR density (estimated from mock Hα emission) and H{sub 2} density shows large scatter, especially at high resolutions of ≲75 pc that are comparable to the size of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). This is because an aperture of GMC size captures only particular stages of GMC evolution and because Hα traces hot gas around star-forming regions and is displaced from the H{sub 2} peaks themselves. By examining the evolving environment around star clusters, we speculate that the breakdown of the traditional star formation laws of the Kennicutt-Schmidt type at small scales is further aided by a combination of stars drifting from their birthplaces and molecular clouds being dispersed via stellar feedback.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Review of using gallium nitride for ionizing radiation detection

With the largest band gap energy of all commercial semiconductors, GaN has found wide application in the making of optoelectronic devices. It has also been used for photodetection such as solar blind imaging as well as ultraviolet and even X-ray detection. Unsurprisingly, the appreciable advantages of GaN over Si, amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), SiC, amorphous SiC (a-SiC), and GaAs, particularly for its radiation hardness, have drawn prompt attention from the physics, astronomy, and nuclear science and engineering communities alike, where semiconductors have traditionally been used for nuclear particle detection. Several investigations have established the usefulness of GaN for alpha detection, suggesting that when properly doped or coated with neutron sensitive materials, GaN could be turned into a neutron detection device. Work in this area is still early in its development, but GaN-based devices have already been shown to detect alpha particles, ultraviolet light, X-rays, electrons, and neutrons. Furthermore, the nuclear reaction presented by {sup 14}N(n,p){sup 14}C and various other threshold reactions indicates that GaN is intrinsically sensitive to neutrons. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art development of GaN detectors for detecting directly and indirectly ionizing radiation. Particular emphasis is given to GaN's radiation hardness under high-radiation fields.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Metabolomic Response of Human Skin Tissue to Low Dose Ionizing Radiation

Understanding how human organs respond to ionizing radiation (IR) at a systems biology level and identifying biomarkers for IR exposure at low doses can help provide a scientific basis for establishing radiation protection standards. Little is known regarding the physiological responses to low dose IR at the metabolite level, which represents the end-point of biochemical processes inside cells. Using a full thickness human skin tissue model and GC-MS-based metabolomics analysis, we examined the metabolic perturbations at three time points (3, 24 and 48 hr) after exposure to 3, 10 and 200 cGy of X-rays. PLS-DA score plots revealed dose- and time-dependent clustering between sham and irradiated groups. Importantly, a comparable number of metabolites were detected to have significant change 48 hr after exposure to 3 and 10 cGy of irradiation, when compared with the high dose of 200 cGy. Biochemical pathway analysis showed perturbations to DNA/RNA damage and repair, lipid and energy metabolisms, even at low doses of IR.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗
DOE OSTI2014

Medical imaging using ionizing radiation: Optimization of dose and image quality in fluoroscopy

The 2012 Summer School of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) focused on optimization of the use of ionizing radiation in medical imaging. Day 2 of the Summer School was devoted to fluoroscopy and interventional radiology and featured seven lectures. These lectures have been distilled into a single review paper covering equipment specification and siting, equipment acceptance testing and quality control, fluoroscope configuration, radiation effects, dose estimation and measurement, and principles of flat panel computed tomography. This review focuses on modern fluoroscopic equipment and is comprised in large part of information not found in textbooks on the subject. While this review does discuss technical aspects of modern fluoroscopic equipment, it focuses mainly on the clinical use and support of such equipment, from initial installation through estimation of patient dose and management of radiation effects. This review will be of interest to those learning about fluoroscopy, to those wishing to update their knowledge of modern fluoroscopic equipment, to those wishing to deepen their knowledge of particular topics, such as flat panel computed tomography, and to those who support fluoroscopic equipment in the clinic.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Electron cascades in sensors for optical detection of ionizing radiation

A new class of high-speed detectors, called RadOptic detectors, measures ionizing radiation incident on a transparent semiconductor by sensing changes in the refractive index with an optical probe beam. We describe the role of radiation-initiated electron cascades in setting the sensitivity and the spatial and temporal resolution of RadOptic detectors. We model electron cascades with both analytical and Monte Carlo computational methods. We find that the timescale for the development of an electron cascade is less than of order 100 fs and is not expected to affect the time response of a detector. The characteristic size of the electron cloud is typically less than 2 μm, enabling high spatial resolution in imaging systems. The electron-hole pair density created by single x-rays is much smaller than the saturation density and, therefore, single events should not saturate the detector.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Low Dose Ionizing Radiation and HZE Particle Effects on Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis: A Sensitive Indicator of CNS Microenvironmental Changes (Final Scientific Report)

The overriding hypothesis of this proposal was that production of new neurons in the rodent brain represents a sensitive measure of CNS microenvironmental changes following radiation exposure. We further postulated that radiation elicits alterations in gene expression patterns, which impact neurogenesis. Specific objectives of the work were to establish a lower dose limit for inhibition of adult neurogenesis using two different types of radiation (ionizing and HZE particles) and to evaluate alterations in local patterns of gene expression following radiation exposure using microarray technology. As detailed in this report, we established a lower dose limit for inhibition of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in the mouse brain and discovered a large population of genes that are regulated as a function of radiation quality, radiation dose, and time after exposure. This information adds to our understanding of the interaction between radiation and normal brain as well as the risks for people undergoing therapeutic radiation, radiation workers, astronauts, and citizens and soldiers exposed to radiation. Moreover, our systematic method of molecular analysis provides new insights into the CNS microenvironmental changes that contribute to neurogenesis. Such information may be useful in considering therapeutic interventions both for protection from radiation effects and for the rapidly expanding field of adult neural stem cell biology.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗
DOE OSTI2025

X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements of radiatively ionized argon gas

X-ray absorption spectroscopy is a diagnostic tool that can characterize the temperature and ionization state of a plasma. This technique requires experiments to characterize the platform, careful data calibration, and comparison with atomic models to understand the plasma parameters. We performed ionizing radiation wave experiments at the OMEGA Laser Facility that used an ∼ 80 eV X-ray source to heat an Argon (Ar) gas cell at fill pressures of 3 atm. To diagnose the Ar plasma, we used a capsule backlighter offset 10 mm from the gas cell, to produce X-rays that were absorbed by the ionized Ar gas. The absorption analysis was calibrated using the significant line structure in the backlighter spectrum, which served as independent energy fiducials enabling definitive measurements of a 50-eV shift in the energy of the Ar K-edge due to ionization. We compare the measured absorption spectra to two independent atomic models, PrismSPECT and SCRAM, and show that the observed K-edge shift in the heated gas is consistent with ionization up to Ar 4+ and temperatures of 10 eV.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Transcriptome analysis reveals a stress response of Shewanella oneidensis deprived of background levels of ionizing radiation

Natural ionizing background radiation has exerted a constant pressure on organisms since the first forms of life appeared on Earth, so that cells have developed molecular mechanisms to avoid or repair damages caused directly by radiation or indirectly by radiation-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS). In the present study, we investigated the transcriptional effect of depriving Shewanella oneidensis cultures of background levels of radiation by growing the cells in a mine 655 m underground, thus reducing the dose rate from 72.1 to 0.9 nGy h -1 from control to treatment, respectively. RNASeq transcriptome analysis showed the differential expression of 4.6 and 7.6% of the S. oneidensis genome during early- and late-exponential phases of growth, respectively. The greatest change observed in the treatment was the downregulation of ribosomal proteins (21% of all annotated ribosomal protein genes during early- and 14% during late-exponential) and tRNA genes (14% of all annotated tRNA genes in early-exponential), indicating a marked decrease in protein translation. Other significant changes were the upregulation of membrane transporters, implying an increase in the traffic of substrates across the cell membrane, as well as the up and downregulation of genes related to respiration, which could be interpreted as a response to insufficient oxidants in the cells. In other reports, there is evidence in multiple species that some ROS not just lead to oxidative stress, but act as signaling molecules to control cellular metabolism at the transcriptional level. Consistent with these reports, several genes involved in the metabolism of carbon and biosynthesis of amino acids were also regulated, lending support to the idea of a wide metabolic response. Our results indicate that S. oneidensis is sensitive to the withdrawal of background levels of ionizing radiation and suggest that a transcriptional response is required to maintain homeostasis and retain normal growth.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗
DOE OSTI2017

Microbial cells can cooperate to resist high-level chronic ionizing radiation

Understanding chronic ionizing radiation (CIR) effects is of utmost importance to protecting human health and the environment. Diverse bacteria and fungi inhabiting extremely radioactive waste and disaster sites (e.g. Hanford, Chernobyl, Fukushima) represent new targets of CIR research. We show that many microorganisms can grow under intense gamma-CIR dose rates of 13–126 Gy/h, with fungi identified as a particularly CIR-resistant group of eukaryotes: among 145 phylogenetically diverse strains tested, 78 grew under 36 Gy/h. Importantly, we demonstrate that CIR resistance can depend on cell concentration and that certain resistant microbial cells protect their neighbors (not only conspecifics, but even radiosensitive species from a different phylum), from high-level CIR. We apply a mechanistically-motivated mathematical model of CIR effects, based on accumulation/removal kinetics of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants, in bacteria (3 Escherichia coli strains and Deinococcus radiodurans) and in fungi (Candida parapsilosis, Kazachstania exigua, Pichia kudriavzevii, Rhodotorula lysinophila, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Trichosporon mucoides). We also show that correlations between responses to CIR and acute ionizing radiation (AIR) among studied microorganisms are weak. For example, in D. radiodurans, the best molecular correlate for CIR resistance is the antioxidant enzyme catalase, which is dispensable for AIR resistance; and numerous CIR-resistant fungi are not AIR-resistant. Our experimental findings and quantitative modeling thus demonstrate the importance of investigating CIR responses directly, rather than extrapolating from AIR. Protection of radiosensitive cell-types by radioresistant ones under high-level CIR is a potentially important new tool for bioremediation of radioactive sites and development of CIR-resistant microbiota as radioprotectors.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗
DOE OSTI2013

DWARF GALAXIES WITH IONIZING RADIATION FEEDBACK. I. ESCAPE OF IONIZING PHOTONS

We describe a new method for simulating ionizing radiation and supernova feedback in the analogs of low-redshift galactic disks. In this method, which we call star-forming molecular cloud (SFMC) particles, we use a ray-tracing technique to solve the radiative transfer equation for ultraviolet photons emitted by thousands of distinct particles on the fly. Joined with high numerical resolution of 3.8 pc, the realistic description of stellar feedback helps to self-regulate star formation. This new feedback scheme also enables us to study the escape of ionizing photons from star-forming clumps and from a galaxy, and to examine the evolving environment of star-forming gas clumps. By simulating a galactic disk in a halo of 2.3 × 10{sup 11} M{sub ☉}, we find that the average escape fraction from all radiating sources on the spiral arms (excluding the central 2.5 kpc) fluctuates between 0.08% and 5.9% during a ∼20 Myr period with a mean value of 1.1%. The flux of escaped photons from these sources is not strongly beamed, but manifests a large opening angle of more than 60° from the galactic pole. Further, we investigate the escape fraction per SFMC particle, f{sub esc}(i), and how it evolves as the particle ages. We discover that the average escape fraction f{sub esc} is dominated by a small number of SFMC particles with high f{sub esc}(i). On average, the escape fraction from an SFMC particle rises from 0.27% at its birth to 2.1% at the end of a particle lifetime, 6 Myr. This is because SFMC particles drift away from the dense gas clumps in which they were born, and because the gas around the star-forming clumps is dispersed by ionizing radiation and supernova feedback. The framework established in this study brings deeper insight into the physics of photon escape fraction from an individual star-forming clump and from a galactic disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Effects of irradiation temperature on the response of CeO2, ThO2, and UO2 to highly ionizing radiation

Microcrystalline CeO 2 , ThO 2 , and UO 2 were irradiated with 198 MeV 132 Xe ions to the same fluence at temperatures ranging from 25°C to 700°C then characterized by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. All samples retain crystallinity and their nominal fluorite-type phase at a fluence of 1.5x10 13 ions/cm 2 . Both CeO 2 and ThO 2 display defect-induced unit cell expansion after irradiation at room temperature (~0.15% and ~0.10%, respectively), yet as irradiation temperature increases, the maximum swelling produced decreases to ~0.02%. Alternatively, UO 2 shows an initial contraction in unit cell parameter (approximately -0.05%), for room temperature irradiation most likely related to irradiation-enhanced annealing or irradiation-induced oxidation. At higher temperatures (above 200°C), UO 2 begins to swell, surpassing its unit cell parameter prior to irradiation (~0.05%), an effect which could be attributed to minor reduction in uranium oxidation state in vacuum. However, while CeO 2 irradiated at room temperature undergoes partial reduction, both UO 2 and ThO 2 exhibit no measurable change in cation oxidation state as evidenced by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. All samples display a decrease in irradiation-induced heterogeneous microstrain as a function of increasing irradiation temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗