A model of the effects of heavy ion radiation on human tissue

In heavy ion radiotherapy and space travel humans are exposed to energetic heavy ions (C, Si, Fe and others). This type of irradiation often produces more severe biological effects per unit dose than more common X-rays. A new Monte Carlo model generates a physical space with the complex geometry of human tissue or a cell culture based model of tissue, which is affected by the passage of ionizing radiation. For irradiation, the model relies on a physical code for the ion track structure; for tissues, cellular maps are derived from two- or three-dimensional confocal microscopy images using image segmentation algorithm, which defines cells as pixilated volumes. The model is used to study tissue-specific statistics of direct ion hits and the remote ion action on cells. As an application of the technique, we considered the spatial pattern of apoptotic cells after heavy ion irradiation. The pattern of apoptosis is modeled as a stochastic process, which is defined by the action cross section taken from available experimental data. To characterize the degree of apoptosis, an autocorrelation function that describes the spatial correlation of apoptotic cells is introduced. The values of the autocorrelation function demonstrate the effect of the directionality of the radiation track on the spatial arrangements of inactivated cells in tissue. This effect is intrinsic only to high linear-energy-transfer radiation.     

Study of magnetic flux emergence and related activity in active region NOAA 10314

We study the extremely complex active region (AR) NOAA 10314, that was observed from March 13–19, 2003. This AR was the source of several energetic events, among them two major (X class) flares, along a few days. We follow the evolution of this AR since the very first stages of its emergence. From the photospheric evolution of the magnetic polarities observed with SOHO/MDI we infer the morphology of the flux tube that originates the AR. Using a computation technique that combines Local Correlation Tracking with magnetic induction constrains, we compute the rate of magnetic helicity injection at the photosphere during the observed evolution. From our results we conclude that the AR originated by the emergence of a severely deformed magnetic flux tube having a dominantly positive magnetic helicity.     

Hazard Prevention in Mission Plans for Aerial Vehicles Based on Soft Institutions

Hazard prevention in mission plans requires careful analysis and appropriate tools to support the design of preventive and/or corrective measures. It is most challenging in systems with large sets of states and complex state relations. In the case of sociotechnical systems, hazard prevention becomes even more dicult given that the behaviour of human centric components can at best be partially predictable. In the present article we focus on a specic class of sociotechnical systems namely air spaces containing pilot controlled as well as autonomous aircrafts and introduce the notion of relevant hazards. We also introduce soft institutions as an appropriate basis for analysis, with the aim of addressing relevant hazards. The concept of soft institutions is drawn from specication languages for interaction between agents in multi agent systems but, in our case, is adapted for use in systems that combine human and automated actors.     

Effects of cold fronts on MODIS-derived sensible and latent heat fluxes in Itumbiara reservoir (Central Brazil)

In this work we investigate the cold front passage effects on sensible and latent heat flux in a tropical hydroelectric reservoir. The study area, Itumbiara reservoir (Goiás State/Brazil) at the beginning of the austral winter, is characterized by the presence of a weak thermal stratification and the passage of several cold fronts from higher latitudes of South America. Sensible and latent heat fluxes were estimated considering the atmospheric boundary layer stability. In situ and MODIS water surface temperature data were used to adjust the coefficients for momentum and heat exchanges between water and atmosphere and spatialize the sensible and latent heat fluxes. The results showed that during a cold front event the sensible heat flux can be up to five times greater than the flux observed before. The latent heat flux tends to decrease during the cold front but increase again after the passage. The highest values of heat loss were observed at littoral zone and some Reservoir’s embayment. The heat loss intensification can be separated in two moments: first, during the cold front passage, when the wind speed increases and the air temperature decreases; second, after the cold front passage, with air humidity decreasing. This can be considered a key process to understanding the heat loss in the Itumbiara reservoir.