The LSO scintillator crystal commonly used in PET scanners contains a low level of intrinsic radioactivity due to a small amount of Lu-176. This is not usually a concern in routine scanning but can become an issue in small animal imaging, especially when imaging low tracer activity levels. Previously there had been no systematic validation of simulations of this activity; this thesis discusses the validation of a GATE model of intrinsic Lu-176 against results from a bench-top pair of detectors and a Siemens Inveon preclinical PET system. The simulation results matched those from the bench-top system very well, but did not agree as well with results from the complete Inveon system due to a drop-off in system sensitivity at low energies that was not modelled. With this validation the model can now be used with confidence to predict the effects of Lu-176 activity in future PET systems.

Bibliography: leaves ix-xiii / viii, 171, ix-xiii leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Physics and Mathematical Physics, 1992

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-108). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:28:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:56:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Fisica, Universidade de Sao Paulo - IF/USP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:36:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:57:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 04327.pdf: 2200991 bytes, checksum: 4359f2ee2a626eaa629feb45cdeebc50 (MD5) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - COPPE

Resumo: Neste trabalho avaliou-se o efeito da microestrutura na cintilação de nanopartículas de Y2O3:Eu3+. Neste contexto utilizam-se dois métodos de síntese, o método Pechini, que apresenta matéria orgânica remanescente de síntese, assim como, aglomerados micrométricos constituídos de partículas nanométricas com variação da forma e tamanho. Utilizando o método de precipitação homogênea modificado, estudou-se a influência de partículas com estreita distribuição de tamanho e morfologia esférica. A estrutura apresenta simetria cubica (grupo espacial Ia3) e com os estudos espectroscópicos caracterizou-se a presença de pelo menos dois sítios de simetria sendo eles C2 e S6. Avaliou-se o efeito da temperatura de tratamento térmico de 700 a 1100 ºC na cristalinidade do material através de difratometria de raios x do pó. Por meio da espectroscopia de luminescência com excitação de raios X, avaliou-se o efeito da microestrutura do material na cintilação. Por meio da área integrada da transição 5D0→7F2 observou-se a relação da intensidade de emissão com as temperaturas de tratamento térmico e com o tamanho de cristalito, calculados pela equação de Scherrer. Observou-se o efeito de defeitos na cintilação das partículas, pois, em menores temperaturas de tratamento térmico e/ou menores tamanhos de cristalitos os defeitos presentes no material se apresentam em maiores proporções, deste modo proporcionando mecanismos não radiativos de recombinação. Utilizando as curvas de danos de radiação pode-se caracterizar algumas etapas envolvidas na cintilação, como a criação de defeitos, que apresentaram dependência com o tamanho de cristalito obtido para o método Pechini. Após longos períodos sob radiação X os materiais apresentam intensidade de emissão inalterada ou até mesmo um aumento significativo, comportamento que depende dos mecanismos de... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In this work one consider the effects of microstructure in the scintillations properties of Y2O3:Eu3+. Two preparation methods were used; the Pechini method, which exhibits remaining organic matter derived from the synthesis, and tends to form agglomerates of nanoparticles with variable shape and size. By using a modified method of homogeneous precipitation one studied the effects of spherical particles with narrow distribution of particle size in its scintillation properties. The Y2O3 presents cubic symmetry (Ia3 space group) and with spectroscopy results at least two Y3+ symmetry sites were identified, a C2 and a S6 site. The firing temperature of the samples (700- 1100oC) was correlated with its crystallinity by X-ray diffractometry data. The relation between the integrated emission intensity of 5D0 ® 7F2 transition and the firing temperature or the Scherrer crystallite size were analyzed, and from these results were observed the influence of defects in the scintillation of particles, since in lower firing temperatures and/or lower crystallite sizes defects are presented in higher concentrations, leading to non-radiactive paths of pairs recombination. By using radiation damage measurements it was possible to identify the steps involved in the scintillation process, as the creation of defects, which presents a direct relation with the particles characteristics. After a long exposition time to the incoming ionizing radiation, the materials present constant scintillation intensity or a linear growth by means of recovery processes. Samples prepared by the homogeneous precipitation presented higher scintillation intensity and a higher recovery ability when fired at high temperatures. A comparison between the two methods in relation to crystallinity (firing temperature of 1100oC) revels similar results, however spherical particles presented higher scintillation intensity and... (Complete abstract click eletronic access below) / Orientador: Marian Rosaly Davolos / Coorientador: Marco Aurélio Cebim / Banca: Flávio Maron Vichi / Banca: Vera Regina Leopoldo Constantino / Mestre

Satellite communication was operated exclusively in C-bandprior to 1970. Since then there has been an explosive growth in the demand for telecommunication services that are either only feasible via satellite or very cost effective by that means. This has prompted a steady growth in the utilization of higher frequencies in the Ku-band and above. The higher frequencies offer various advantages such as increased bandwidth, smaller antennas, and smaller satellite footprints that give higher EIRP permitting greater frequency reuse. The main drawback however is that they are subject to more severe propagation degradation. The small size antennas employed in VSAT and USAT systems significantly reduce the cost of earth station terminals and also eliminate tracking requirements, but they lose the mitigating effect of aperture averaging and hence experience stronger scintillation. The result is random fading and enhancement in the received signal amplitude, which will have a significant impact on the performance of low-margin communication systems operating at high frequencies (> ~10GHz) and low elevation angles, and utilising small antennas. Scintillation effects need to be considered in the design and link-budget calculations of these systems. In this thesis, the results are shown of an extensive measurement analysis of tropospheric scintillation, using the ITALSATsatellite beacon signals at 18.7, 39.6 and 49.5 GHz, recorded at Sparsholt, U.K., at an elevation angle of 29.9°. The analysis was carried out in order to study the effects of scintillation due to tropospheric turbulence and their impact on satellite digital communication systems. The first part of the thesis deals with the preprocessing of raw propagation data and presents various statistical results relating to the stationary aspects of the scintillations, i. e. pdf of amplitude and intensity; long and short term statistics of amplitude scintillation distributions. The relationship of scintillation with link parameters and meteorological parameters are also studied. The second part of the thesis investigates the dynamic characteristics of scintillation. It examines the observed effects of wind and cloud presence on the intensity and power spectrum of tropospheric scintillation and then moves on to present results relating to the analysis of the instantaneous frequency scaling of scintillation. In the third part of the thesis scintillation fade and enhancement duration statistics are presented for various threshold signal levels, and their use in fade countermeasures is examined. Finally, a study of adaptive fade countermeasures (FCM) that could be used for systems operating at Ka-band and above for mitigating the effects of scintillations and rain attenuation is presented. The last part, presents an improved global prediction model for both the long-term standard deviation and the signal level distribution of tropospheric scintillation. The model is validated using measurement results from satellite links in Europe, the United Sates and Japan at frequencies from 11 GHz to 50 GHz, and path elevation angles 5.8° to 40°.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-05-29Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:08:13Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_ha_me_prud.pdf: 2618530 bytes, checksum: b2c909f5a51e515ca736f8c6a5a4def3 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Atualmente, o GNSS, em especial o GPS, é uma das tecnologias mais utilizadas para realizar posicionamento. Os modelos funcionais relacionados com as observações GNSS são mais conhecidos do que os modelos estocásticos, visto que o desenvolvimento destes últimos é mais complexo. Normalmente, no posicionamento GNSS são utilizados modelos estocásticos numa forma simplificada, com um modelo padrão, o qual assume que todas as medidas das observações GNSS têm a mesma variância e são estatisticamente independentes. Porém, atualmente os modelos estocásticos relacionados ao GNSS vêm sendo pesquisados com maior profundidade, por exemplo, considerando efeitos de cintilação ionosférica. Este efeito pode ser considerado na modelagem estocástica já que atualmente receptores GNSS permitem a extração de parâmetros de cintilação ionosférica. Além dessa, outro tipo de modelagem estocástica pode ser realizada, no caso, trata-se da consideração da variação dos ângulos de elevação dos satélites durante o rastreio dos dados. Sendo assim, nessa pesquisa foram desenvolvidos e analisados esses dois casos de modelagem estocástica, tanto no posicionamento relativo, quanto no absoluto (por ponto). No posicionamento relativo, ao se considerar a modelagem estocástica em função da cintilação ionosférica, os resultados atingiram melhorias em torno de 93,0% em relação à modelagem padrão. No processamento e análise foram utilizados dados GPS coletados no Norte da Europa, os quais estão sob condições de cintilação ionosférica. No posicionamento relativo considerando a modelagem estocástica em função dos ângulos de elevação dos satélites, as melhorias foram em torno de 89,2%. No caso do posicionamento por ponto, as melhorias em relação a modelagem estocástica padrão atingiram valores de aproximadamente 45,1% e 42,1% considerando, respectivamente... / Nowadays, the GNSS, especially the GPS, is one of the most used techniques to accomplish positioning. The functional models related with the GNSS observables are more known than the stochastic models, considering that the development of the last ones is more complex. Usually, they are used in a simplified form, as the standard model, which assumes that all the GNSS observable have the same variance and are statistically independent. However, the stochastic models are being investigated with more property, for example, considering the ionospheric scintillation effects. This effect can be considered in the stochastic modelling since now receivers GNSS allow the extraction of ionospheric scintillation parameters. Besides that, others stochastic modelling can be accomplished, e.g. considering the variation of the satellites elevation angles during the data tracking. Thus, in this dissertation it was investigated the two cases of stochastic modelling cited above, either in the relative or in the absolute positioning... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:38:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:04:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 05681.pdf: 6544120 bytes, checksum: 39fb67d11e03881826cd6fa65d2fdde5 (MD5) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Submitted by Gabriel Oliveira Jerez null (gabrielojerez@gmail.com) on 2017-04-14T21:10:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Gabriel.pdf: 58918950 bytes, checksum: c672d2677b4cddee82e8492deec6b6f9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luiz Galeffi (luizgaleffi@gmail.com) on 2017-04-18T14:47:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 jerez_go_me_prud.pdf: 58918950 bytes, checksum: c672d2677b4cddee82e8492deec6b6f9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-18T14:47:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 jerez_go_me_prud.pdf: 58918950 bytes, checksum: c672d2677b4cddee82e8492deec6b6f9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-17 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Com o desenvolvimento dos sistemas globais de navegação por satélite as atividades que envolvem posicionamento passaram por uma revolução. Os pioneiros, GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) e GPS (Global Positioning System), são atualmente os principais sistemas, e únicos com constelação completa. A utilização combinada de dados GPS e GLONASS passou por uma perda de interesse no final da década de noventa devido à rápida degradação que o GLONASS sofreu. Porém, em 2001 teve início um plano de restabelecimento do sistema que em 2011 voltou a contar com constelação completa de 24 satélites e cobertura global. O GLONASS passa ainda por um processo de modernização, com novas gerações de satélites sendo desenvolvidas, refinamentos dos sistemas de tempo e referência e novas estações de controle sendo instaladas. Além do uso de dados combinados, outros fatores que influenciam a qualidade do posicionamento são os métodos empregados e os erros aos quais os sinais transmitidos estão sujeitos. Nas metodologias de integração devem constar as diferenças de estrutura dos sistemas, sendo as principais, para este caso, os sistemas de referência, sistemas de tempo e a tecnologia relacionada às frequências. Em relação aos erros, a ionosfera é uma importante fonte, principalmente para usuários de receptores de apenas uma frequência. Ela exige atenção especial, pois além de degradar a acurácia do posicionamento há uma grande dependência entre perdas do sinal e irregularidades ionosféricas, como a cintilação ionosférica. Na presente pesquisa buscou-se analisar as melhorias apresentadas no posicionamento utilizando dados combinados GPS/GLONASS sob efeito de cintilação ionosférica, avaliar a influência da cintilação nos sinais GLONASS e realizar um estudo da estrutura do sistema. Foram realizados três experimentos, relacionados à aplicação do PPP (Posicionamento por Ponto Preciso), do posicionamento relativo estático e do posicionamento em redes (especificamente no conceito de VRS – Virtual Reference Station). Para possibilitar o posicionamento em redes foi adaptada a ferramenta VRS-UNESP, para permitir a geração de bases virtuais com dados GLONASS ou GPS/GLONASS. Para as três metodologias foram selecionadas estações em três regiões do Brasil com comportamentos ionosféricos distintos visando possibilitar também a análise do efeito da cintilação. Para isso foram escolhidas regiões próximas ao equador geomagnético, próximas a área afetada pelo efeito fonte e ao sul do país, onde se tem menor influência da ionosfera. Para o PPP considerando-se todos os casos, independente da configuração, houve melhoria em 92,28% dos dias com o uso de dados GPS e GLONASS. Para o posicionamento relativo os resultados obtidos foram mais irregulares que para o PPP, sendo que a melhoria ocorreu em 69,18% dos casos. Os dados virtuais foram processados de maneira análoga ao experimento com PPP, obtendo melhoria em 100% os casos analisados ao se utilizar dados GPS e GLONASS. / With the development of the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) the activities involving positioning passed by a great revolution. Currently, the pioneers, GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) and GPS (Global Positioning System), are the main systems with full constellation. The interest in the combined use of GPS and GLONASS data had a great fall in the late nineties due to the fast degradation of GLONASS. However, in 2001 a restoration plan of the system began and in 2011 GLONASS recovered the full constellation of 24 satellites with global coverage. Furthermore GLONASS is going through a modernization process, with the development of new satellite generations, time and reference systems refinements and new control stations. Besides the use of combined data, other factors that influence the positioning quality are the applied methods and the errors that can affect the transmitted signals. The integration methodologies must consider the differences in the systems structures, the main differences, for this case, are reference and time systems and the technology related to the frequencies. About the errors, the ionosphere is an important source, mainly for users of single frequency receivers. It requires special attention, because besides of degrading the positioning accuracy there is a great dependency between the loss of signal and ionospheric irregularities, as ionospheric scintillation. In this research it was intended to analyze the improvement of the combined use of GPS/GLONASS data at positioning under ionospheric scintillation effect, evaluate the influence of scintillation at GLONASS signals and perform a study about the structure of the system. Three experiments were performed, the first one is related to the application of PPP (Precise Point Positioning), the second one is about static relative positioning and the third one is about network based positioning (specifically in the Virtual Reference Station concept).To enable the network based positioning the software VRS-UNESP was adapted, in order to allow the generation of virtual stations with GLONASS or GPS/GLONASS data. In the three methodologies were selected three regions of Brazil with distinct ionospheric behavior, in order to evaluate the scintillation effect in the positioning. It was selected regions near to the geomagnetic equator, regions near the fountain effect and in the south of the country, where the ionosphere effect is less intense. For the PPP, considering all the configurations adopted, there was improvement with the use of GPS and GLONASS combined data in 92,28% of the days analyzed. For the relative positioning the results obtained were more irregulars than the ones from PPP. In such case it was achieved improvement in 69,18% of the cases with the use of combined data. The virtual data were processed in a procedure similar to the one used in the PPP experiment. It was achieved improvement in 100% of the cases that were used GPS and GLONASS data.