207Pb*/206Pb* chronometry was used to obtain the ages of Ca,Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) and chondrules found in ancient meteorites. Assuming a 238U/235U=137.88, Pb/Pb ages of chondrules in NWA801 (a CR2 meteorite) are 4564.6±1.0 Ma, chondrules in Mokoia (a CV3 chondrite) are 4564.2±1.1Ma, and CAIs in Mokoia are 4567.9±5.4 Ma. The Pb/Pb age of NWA801 chondrules is concordant with 26Al/26Mg ages of CR chondrules. However if a 238U/235U < 137.88 is used, the age for NWA801 chondrules becomes younger by ~1Ma and discordant with 26Al/26Mg ages of CR chondrules. This suggests either a discrepancy with the U compositions or the initial Mg isotopic compositions of NWA801 chondrules. The shapes of NWA801 chondrules, and blebs of FeNi metal in the meteorite matrix, were further studied by 3D X-ray micro-computed tomography (CT). Most chondrules (92%) were ‘armoured’ with one discontinuous layer of FeNi metal. Two layers of FeNi metal (one on the exterior and one concentric through the interior separated by silicate) were rare <8%. Chondrules and matrix blebs occur as oblates, prolate, spheres and triaxial spheroids. It is proposed that the shapes were made free-floating in the nebula likely by flash-melting precursors into molten droplets that were vibrating as harmonic oscillators that ‘froze-in’ their shapes during cooling. Parent-body metamorphism and shock are not likely processes affecting the matrix-bleb and chondrule shapes. Chondrules with ≥2 FeNi metal layers were likely formed by mergers and not by successive deposition and annealing of metal in multiple flash-melting events. Attempts to obtain 207Pb*/206Pb* ages from chondrules and CAIs by thermal extraction (TE)- TIMS were unsuccessful. However LA-ICP-MS was shown to be useful for rapidly determining Pb isotopic trends in meteorites and unknown objects. In particular, it was shown that 137La (T1/2=60ky) should be detectable in recently fallen meteorites using LaF−4 to suppress the 137Ba isobar during tandem accelerator mass spectrometry combined with a novel instrumental technique for isobar separation.

207Pb*/206Pb* chronometry was used to obtain the ages of Ca,Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) and chondrules found in ancient meteorites. Assuming a 238U/235U=137.88, Pb/Pb ages of chondrules in NWA801 (a CR2 meteorite) are 4564.6±1.0 Ma, chondrules in Mokoia (a CV3 chondrite) are 4564.2±1.1Ma, and CAIs in Mokoia are 4567.9±5.4 Ma. The Pb/Pb age of NWA801 chondrules is concordant with 26Al/26Mg ages of CR chondrules. However if a 238U/235U < 137.88 is used, the age for NWA801 chondrules becomes younger by ~1Ma and discordant with 26Al/26Mg ages of CR chondrules. This suggests either a discrepancy with the U compositions or the initial Mg isotopic compositions of NWA801 chondrules. The shapes of NWA801 chondrules, and blebs of FeNi metal in the meteorite matrix, were further studied by 3D X-ray micro-computed tomography (CT). Most chondrules (92%) were ‘armoured’ with one discontinuous layer of FeNi metal. Two layers of FeNi metal (one on the exterior and one concentric through the interior separated by silicate) were rare <8%. Chondrules and matrix blebs occur as oblates, prolate, spheres and triaxial spheroids. It is proposed that the shapes were made free-floating in the nebula likely by flash-melting precursors into molten droplets that were vibrating as harmonic oscillators that ‘froze-in’ their shapes during cooling. Parent-body metamorphism and shock are not likely processes affecting the matrix-bleb and chondrule shapes. Chondrules with ≥2 FeNi metal layers were likely formed by mergers and not by successive deposition and annealing of metal in multiple flash-melting events. Attempts to obtain 207Pb*/206Pb* ages from chondrules and CAIs by thermal extraction (TE)- TIMS were unsuccessful. However LA-ICP-MS was shown to be useful for rapidly determining Pb isotopic trends in meteorites and unknown objects. In particular, it was shown that 137La (T1/2=60ky) should be detectable in recently fallen meteorites using LaF−4 to suppress the 137Ba isobar during tandem accelerator mass spectrometry combined with a novel instrumental technique for isobar separation.

Thesis; Thesis information not provided; 1 Feb 2003. / Published through the Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information. "JLAB-PHY-03-39" "DOE/ER/40150-2763" Silvia Niccolai. 02/01/2003. Report is also available in paper and microfiche from NTIS.

For about 20 years now, observations of 6Li in several old metal-poor stars inside the halo of our galaxy have been reported, which are largely independent of the stars’ metallicity, and which point to a possible primordial origin. The observations exceed the predictions of the Standard Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis model by a factor of 500. In the relevant energy range, no directly measured S-factors were available yet for the main production reaction 2H(α,γ)6Li, while different theoretical estimations have an uncertainty of up to two orders of magnitude. The very small cross section in the picobarn range has been measured with a deuterium gas target at the LUNA acceler- ator (Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics), located deep underground inside Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. A beam-induced, neutron-caused background in the γ-detector occurred which had to be analyzed carefully and sub- tracted in an appropriate way, to finally infer the weak signal of the reaction. For this purpose, a method to parameterize the Compton background has been developed. The results are a contribution to the discussion about the accuracy of the recent 6Li observations, and to the question if it is necessary to include new physics into the Standard Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis model.

A Penning-type surface-plasma negative hydrogen (H^-) ion source has been delivering beam at the ISIS pulsed spallation neutron and muon facility for over thirty years. It is one of the most powerful and well-renowned H^- sources in the world. Although long-term experience has allowed the source to be operated reliably and set up in a repeatable way, it is treated as something of a 'black box': the detailed plasma physics of why it works has always been unclear. A vacuum Vessel for Extraction and Source Plasma Analyses (VESPA) has been developed to understand the ISIS ion source plasma and improve the beam extracted from it. The VESPA ion source is operated in a completely new regime whereby the analysing sector dipole magnet housed inside a refrigerated 'cold box', presently used on ISIS, is replaced by an on-axis extraction system. The new extraction system incorporates a novel einzel lens with an elliptical aperture. This is the first demonstration of an elliptical einzel being used to focus an asymmetric H^- ion beam. With the dipole magnet removed, the ion source has been shown to produce 85 mA of H^- beam current at normal settings; of which 80 mA is transported through the new einzel lens system, with a normalised RMS emittance of 0.2 &pi; mm mrad. Optical emission spectroscopy measurements have shown a plasma density of 10¹⁹ m^–3, an H₂ dissociation rate of 70%, an almost constant electron temperature of 3.5 eV and an atomic temperature which linearly increases above the electron temperature. In support of these principal measurements, rigorous particle tracking, electrostatic and thermal simulations were performed. In addition, a suite of new equipment was manufactured by the author. This includes a fast pressure gauge, a temperature controller, a high voltage einzel lens circuit, a fast beam chopper and a caesium detection system.

[pt] O objetivo desta dissertação é o estudo de procedimentos para avaliação da confiabilidade metrológica do tamanho de campo irradiado (TCI) por aceleradores lineares. No contexto das recentes alterações no panorama regulamentar dos serviços de radioterapia, com a implementação da RDC número 20, em 2006, pela Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA), foi estabelecida a compulsoriedade do uso do densitômetro óptico na verificação do TCI, como parte do controle da qualidade. Questões associadas à implementação prática dos recentes requisitos para medição do tamanho de campo irradiado e as recentes indicações do potencial uso de filmes radiocrômicos para o controle da qualidade em radioterapia motivaram a realização do presente trabalho. Foram empregados três diferentes procedimentos para avaliação do tamanho de campo irradiado por aceleradores lineares utilizados em treze serviços de radioterapia localizados no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, utilizando filmes radiocrômicos EBT QD mais, RTQA, densitômetro óptico DensiX tipo T52001 ou scanner de transmissão Microtek. Os resultados destacam a contribuição das fontes de incerteza de medição para cada procedimento realizado e indicam a necessidade de considerá-la na avaliação da conformidade utilizando o densitômetro óptico (DO). Devido às propriedades do filme radiocrômico RTQA, o mesmo não pode ser utilizado no procedimento de medição com DO. Em conclusão, o uso do procedimento de medição utilizando scanner mostrou-se mais adequado para avaliação das dimensões de campos de radiação não-homogêneos. / [en] The objective of the present work is to study different procedures for metrological evaluation of the size of the radiation field emitted by linear accelerators. In the context of the recent requirements determined by the publication of the RDC number 20, in 2006, by National Agency for Sanitary Vigilance (Anvisa), the compulsory use of the optical densitometer for the measurements of the field size during quality control tests was introduced. Practical implementation issues associated with these requirements and the recent studies indicating the potential use of radiochromic films for measurements of the field size motivated the present work. Three different procedures were employed in order to evaluate the radiation field size emitted by linear accelerators used in thirteen radiotherapy services located in Rio de Janeiro, using radiochromic films EBT QD plus and RTQA, optical densitometer DensiX type T52001 or scanner Microtek. The results indicate the contribution of the measurement uncertainty associated to each procedure performed, highlighting the importance of its consideration during tests for conformity assessment with the recently required optical densitometer. Nevertheless, the RTQA radiochromic film properties precluded its use in the procedure using optical densitometer. In conclusion, among the evaluated procedures for radiation field evaluation, the use of the scanner was the most appropriate, especially if dimensional non-homogeneities are present.

The diploma thesis on the topic "Activation of Collimating System of Linear Accelerator through Photon Radiation and its Impact on the Doses Received by the Staff" is divided into two parts, a theoretical and a practical part. The introductory theoretical part is devoted to the basic information about ionizing radiation. What are the types of ionizing radiation, its characteristics, properties and sources of ionizing radiation. Furthermore, there are mentioned direct and indirect interactions of ionizing radiation, a brief description of charged particle accelerators, collimator systems and radioisotope irradiation devices. Another part deals with radiation protection, basic legislation, methods and principles of radiation protection, personal dosimetry and medical supervision of radiation workers. Literary sources, available internet links and valid legal regulations were used for the work. In the practical part, a number of measurements were carried out to measure and to analyse the doses of secondary radiation of the linear accelerator collimator system for different photon beam energies, depending on time, distance from source, position of radiologic assistant around the table when working with the patient, as well as sizes of irradiated field. The aim of the work was to find out how large the doses of secondary radiation are, although measurable, but their values are not sufficient to be detected by personal dosimeters of radiological assistants. Confirm the hypothesis that the doses from the secondary radiation of the linear accelerator collimator system are so low that the dose power does not exceed 0.031 mGy/hr. The results obtained from various measurements are processed into transparent tables and graphically displayed. Based on the results of the measurements, the hypotheses were confirmed.

Submitted by Marcelo Fonseca (marcelo.economista@hotmail.com) on 2014-05-19T19:10:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Essays on the Credit Channel of Monetary Policy - a Case Study for Brazil.pdf: 3704297 bytes, checksum: 3b1fcaf85bbcf74f3843e7c2c0d1cad9 (MD5) / Rejected by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br), reason: Boa tarde Marcelo, conforme conversamos ao telefone. Att. Suzi 3799-7876 on 2014-05-19T19:47:10Z (GMT) / Submitted by Marcelo Fonseca (marcelo.economista@hotmail.com) on 2014-05-19T21:20:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Essays on the Credit Channel of Monetary Policy - a Case Study for Brazil.pdf: 3702737 bytes, checksum: 106ac090d0a4805c2b0d31d85182e2eb (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2014-05-20T11:36:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Essays on the Credit Channel of Monetary Policy - a Case Study for Brazil.pdf: 3702737 bytes, checksum: 106ac090d0a4805c2b0d31d85182e2eb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-20T11:38:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Essays on the Credit Channel of Monetary Policy - a Case Study for Brazil.pdf: 3702737 bytes, checksum: 106ac090d0a4805c2b0d31d85182e2eb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-06 / O estouro da crise do subprime em 2008 nos EUA e da crise soberana europeia em 2010 renovou o interesse acadêmico no papel desempenhado pela atividade creditícia nos ciclos econômicos. O propósito desse trabalho é apresentar evidências empíricas acerca do canal do crédito da política monetária para o caso brasileiro, usando técnicas econométricas distintas. O trabalho é composto por três artigos. O primeiro apresenta uma revisão da literatura de fricções financeiras, com especial ênfase nas suas implicações sobre a condução da política monetária. Destaca-se o amplo conjunto de medidas não convencionais utilizadas pelos bancos centrais de países emergentes e desenvolvidos em resposta à interrupção da intermediação financeira. Um capítulo em particular é dedicado aos desafios enfrentados pelos bancos centrais emergentes para a condução da política monetária em um ambiente de mercado de capitais altamente integrados. O segundo artigo apresenta uma investigação empírica acerca das implicações do canal do crédito, sob a lente de um modelo FAVAR estrutural (SFAVAR). O termo estrutural decorre da estratégia de estimação adotada, a qual possibilita associar uma clara interpretação econômica aos fatores estimados. Os resultados mostram que choques nas proxies para o prêmio de financiamento externo e o volume de crédito produzem flutuações amplas e persistentes na inflação e atividade econômica, respondendo por mais de 30% da decomposição de variância desta no horizonte de três anos. Simulações contrafactuais demonstram que o canal do crédito amplificou a contração econômica no Brasil durante a fase aguda da crise financeira global no último trimestre de 2008, produzindo posteriormente um impulso relevante na recuperação que se seguiu. O terceiro artigo apresenta estimação Bayesiana de um modelo DSGE novo-keynesiano que incorpora o mecanismo de acelerador financeiro desenvolvido por Bernanke, Gertler e Gilchrist (1999). Os resultados apresentam evidências em linha com aquelas obtidas no artigo anterior: inovações no prêmio de financiamento externo – representado pelos spreads de crédito – produzem efeitos relevantes sobre a dinâmica da demanda agregada e inflação. Adicionalmente, verifica-se que choques de política monetária são amplificados pelo acelerador financeiro. Palavras-chave: Macroeconomia, Política Monetária, Canal do Crédito, Acelerador Financeiro, FAVAR, DSGE, Econometria Bayesiana

The diploma thesis on "Radiation exposure of persons working at risk of ionising radiation at the Pilsen University Hospital" is divided into two parts. The first analyses personal effective doses of the employees of the Pilsen University Hospital in 20092013, and the second focuses on measurements of secondary radiation created after the activation of collimator systems of linear accelerators. The introduction of the theoretical part discusses the history of radiology, followed by a summary of information on the sources of ionising radiation, its characteristics, properties, methods of interaction with the environment and biological effects on organisms. The chapter on radiation protection focuses on basic legislative regulations relevant to the topic. In the Czech Republic, radiation protection of people working with sources of ionising radiation is mostly based on Act No. 18/1997 Coll., on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and Regulation of the State Office for Nuclear Safety No. 307/2002 Coll., on radiation protection. The thesis also lists dose limits and basic information about personal dosimetry, and the theoretical section is concluded with information on the methods of protecting personnel and on provided healthcare. The thesis uses as its sources primary literature, internet links, current legislation and data from the database of the State Office for Nuclear Safety on records from personal dosimeters in the analysed period. The thesis had two objectives. The first was to compare levels of exposure at the Pilsen University Hospital. The analysis involved 579 persons in total; after arranging the data into tables and dividing employees into groups by the type of tasks they perform and their job, it was possible to compare median value indicators, confirming the hypothesis that persons carrying out intervention tasks are exposed to more ionising radiation. In order to compare the development of doses over time, a double-selection t-test was performed on data from 2009 and 2013, confirming the effectiveness of anti-radiation measures adopted at the University Hospital and a reduction in the exposure of employees in this period. The second objective was to confirm or deny the hypothesis that secondary radiation created by collimator systems, while measurable, is not sufficiently large to be detected by personal dosimeters. In order to achieve this objective, measurements were carried out at the Oncology and Radiology Clinic of the Pilsen University Hospital. The first measurements tried to determine the relationship between dose and time at various levels of energy, the second compared the relationship between dose and distance from the collimator plane and the third monitored the number of exposures until the collimator plates are saturated and dose is no longer increased. All results were arranged in tables and projected in charts. The results of the research confirmed the hypothesis that secondary radiation created during the use of high-energy equipment is just below the detection limits of personal dosimeters. For this reason, it is recommended to frequently rotate personnel working with the equipment.

Dans le domaine du calcul générique, les circuits FPGA sont très attrayants pour leur performance et leur faible consommation. Cependant, leur présence reste marginale, notamment à cause des limitations des logiciels de développement actuels. En effet, ces limitations obligent les utilisateurs à bien maîtriser de nombreux concepts techniques. Ils obligent à diriger manuellement les processus de synthèse, de façon à obtenir une solution à la fois rapide et conforme aux contraintes des cibles matérielles visées.Une nouvelle méthodologie de génération basée sur la synthèse d'architecture est proposée afin de repousser ces limites. L'exploration des solutions consiste en l'application de transformations itératives à un circuit initial, ce qui accroît progressivement sa rapidité et sa consommation en ressources. La rapidité de ce processus, ainsi que sa convergence sous contraintes de ressources, sont ainsi garanties. L'exploration est également guidée vers les solutions les plus pertinentes grâce à la détection, dans les applications à synthétiser, des sections les plus critiques pour le contexte d'utilisation réel. Cette information peut être affinée à travers un scénario d'exécution transmis par l'utilisateur.Un logiciel démonstrateur pour cette méthodologie, AUGH, est construit. Des expérimentations sont menées sur plusieurs applications reconnues dans le domaine de la synthèse d'architecture. De tailles très différentes, ces applications confirment la pertinence de la méthodologie proposée pour la génération rapide et autonome d'accélérateurs matériels complexes, sous des contraintes de ressources strictes. La méthodologie proposée est très proche du processus de compilation pour les microprocesseurs, ce qui permet son utilisation même par des utilisateurs non spécialistes de la conception de circuits numériques. Ces travaux constituent donc une avancée significative pour une plus large adoption des FPGA comme accélérateurs matériels génériques, afin de rendre les machines de calcul simultanément plus rapides et plus économes en énergie. / In the field of high-performance computing, FPGA circuits are very attractive for their performance and low consumption. However, their presence is still marginal, mainly because of the limitations of current development tools. These limitations force the user to have expert knowledge about numerous technical concepts. They also have to manually control the synthesis processes in order to obtain solutions both fast and that fulfill the hardware constraints of the targeted platforms.A novel generation methodology based on high-level synthesis is proposed in order to push these limits back. The design space exploration consists in the iterative application of transformations to an initial circuit, which progressively increases its rapidity and its resource consumption. The rapidity of this process, along with its convergence under resource constraints, are thus guaranteed. The exploration is also guided towards the most pertinent solutions thanks to the detection of the most critical sections of the applications to synthesize, for the targeted execution context. This information can be refined with an execution scenarion specified by the user.A demonstration tool for this methodology, AUGH, has been built. Experiments have been conducted with several applications known in the field of high-level synthesis. Of very differen sizes, these applications confirm the pertinence of the proposed methodology for fast and automatic generation of complex hardware accelerators, under strict resource constraints. The proposed methodology is very close to the compilation process for microprocessors, which enable it to be used even by users non experts about digital circuit design. These works constitute a significant progress for a broader adoption of FPGA as general-purpose hardware accelerators, in order to make computing machines both faster and more energy-saving.