Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

The response of pig lungs to irradiation with ¹²C-ions was assessed in two experiments to validate the procedures for heavy ion therapy planning at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) and to explore their range of applicability. In both experiments, the target volume (spread-out Bragg peak, SOBP) was planned to be a 4 cm long cylinder with a diameter of 4 cm. Doses in the SOBP were prescribed to be equivalent to 5x4 Gy, 5x5.5 Gy and 5x7 Gy of x-rays in the first experiment, and to 5 fractions of 7 Gy and 9 Gy in the second experiment. The lung response in the first experiment was less than exepted on the basis of earlier experiments with photons. Pneumonitis reaction and chronic fibrotic changes were observed outside the prescribed high-dose region. In the second experiment, the effects were more pronounced than had been expected on the basis of the first experiment. Changes were most intense in the high-dose region, but were also seen troughout the lung along the beam channel. Moreover, significant skin reactions were observed at the beam entrance site in all animals and - less pronounced - at the beam exit site in 3 of the 6 animals. In conclusion, the complex irradiation geometry of the pig lung, the changes of body weight between the two experiments, and in sufficient accounting for a change in the relative biological effectivness (RBE) computation led to substantial deviations of the observed reactions from expectations, the reasons for which could be identified in a subsequent analysis. The less pronounced lung reaction in the first experiment was due to an overestimation of RBE in a preliminary version of the algorithm for its determination. The extension of the fibrotic reaction resulted from the smear-out of the high-dose region due to density variations in tissue structures, respiratory movement, and limited positioning accuracy. The skin reactions at the entrance port reflect the different treatment geometry in the two experiments. The one unexplained observation is the mild skin reaction that was observed in the second experiment at the beam exit site.

Purpose: Compared to photon irradiation, carbon ions provide physical and biologic advantages that may be exploited in chordomas and chondrosarcomas.
Methods and Materials: Between August 1998 and December 2000, 37 patients with chordomas (n = 24) and chondrosarcomas (n = 13) were treated with carbon ion radiotherapy within a Phase I/II trial. Tumor conformal application of carbon ion beams was realized by intensity-controlled raster scanning with pulse-to-pulse energy variation. Three-dimensional treatment planning included biologic plan optimization. The median tumor dose was 60 GyE (GyE =Gy x relative biologic effectiveness).
Results: The mean follow-up was 13 months. The local control rate after 1 and 2 years was 96% and 90%, respectively. We observed 2 recurrences outside the gross tumor volume in patients with chordomas. Progression-free survival was 100% for chondrosarcomas and 83% for chordomas at 2 years. Partial remission after carbon ion radiotherapy was observed in 6 patients. Treatment toxicity was mild.
Conclusion: These are the first data demonstrating the clinical feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of scanning beam delivery of ion beams in patients with skull base tumors. The preliminary results in patients with skull base chordomas and low-grade chondrosarcomas are encouraging, although the follow-up was too short to draw definite conclusions concerning outcome. In the absence of major toxicity, dose escalation might be considered.

Für eine genauere Einordnung der Sicherheitsreserven des Reaktordruckbehälters im Falle einer Kernschmelze ist es notwendig, mögliche Versagensformen des Reaktordruckbehälters sowie Versagenszeiträume zu untersuchen. Dazu wurden und werden derzeit weltweit Versuche zum Versagen der Bodenkalotte durchgeführt, wie die amerikanischen OLHF- (OECD Lower Head Failure) oder die schwedischen FOREVER-Experimente (Failure of Reactor Vessel Retention). Am Institut für Sicherheitsforschung des Forschungszentrums Rossendorf bei Dresden wurde ein Finite-Elemente-Modell entwickelt, das sowohl die Thermofluiddynamik der Schmelze als auch die elastoplastische Mechanik des Reaktordruckbehälters modelliert. Nach der Validierung und der Anwendung dieses numerischen Modells bei der Simulation der FOREVER-Experimente führte die Analyse der Ergebnisse zur Einführung einer "Kriechstütze" und einer passiven Steuereinrichtung zur Flutung der Reaktorgrube im Falle einer Kernschmelze. Die Funktion der Kriechstütze besteht darin, die am schwersten beanspruchten Bereiche des Reaktordruckbehälters im Falle einer Kernschmelze zu entlasten und somit ein Versagen zu verhindern oder zumindest deutlich zu verzögern. Dazu werden unterhalb der Bodenkalotte des Reaktordruckbehälters sehr tragfähige Stützen in geeigneter Form angeordnet. Beide Ideen wurden erfolgreich als Patent angemeldet (vgl. "Abstützvorrichtung für Stahlbehälter" Patent DE 100 41 778 C2"Steuereinrichtung für einen Kühlkreislauf" Patent DE 100 41 779 C1). In ersten Rechnungen zur FOREVER-Anordnung wurde gezeigt, dass selbst bei einem Szenario ohne Flutung der Bodenkalotte von außen die Zeit bis zum Versagen durch die Wirkung der Kriechstütze bei gleichbleibenden Randbedingungen verdoppelt werden kann. Eine weitere Verfolgung dieses Konzepts bei bestehenden und zukünftigen Kernkraftwerken erscheint daher vielversprechend.

In vivo dose localization in light ion tumour therapy can be performed by measuring the range distributions of beta⁺ active ions in tissue employing positron emission tomographic techniques. For this purpose a multiplicative iteration scheme for reconstructing three-dimensional images from shift-variant, limited-angle data is presented. In the iterative correction steps the algorithm uses the geometric means of quotients calculated from the three-dimensional Radon transforms of the backprojected measured and approximated source distributions. When sources measured with poor statistics are reconstructed, an effective noise suppression is achieved.

A multiplicative iteration scheme for reconstructing three-dimensional images from shift variant, limited angle data taken by a large area positron camera is proposed. Using simulated data sets the algorithm has been proven to be capable of reconstructing source distributions from a very small number of annihilation events. This suggests the applicability of the technique to the measurement of range distributions of beta⁺-active ions implanted into thick targets and especially to in-vivo dose localization in light ion tumor therapy by means of positron emission tomography.

Kein Abstract.

In-line nitrogen PIII/ion nitriding processing of metallic materials

Improvements of tribological properties of Ti6Al4V by nitrogen plasma
immersion ion implantation

Dynamic in situ analysis of stress and film thickness provide fast and more physical information on growth and stress evolution in cBN layers than integrating (ex situ) methods. Especially features of the layered structure of boron nitride films, like the evolution of instantaneous stress and growth rates during deposition can be resolved by in situ methods. This work is concerned with dynamic in-situ stress measurement by means of cantilever bending during magnetron sputter deposition of cBN thin films. Laser deflection in combination with in situ ellipsometry is used to determine the instantaneous stress of the films. The results show, in agreement with results that were obtained previously from ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD), that the hBN and cBN layers exhibit different levels of stress under constant deposition conditions. The stress increases from less than -4 GPa to very high values (-10 GPa) after the coalescence of the cBN nuclei. It is therefore possible to establish the point of cBN nucleation instantly. A simultaneous medium energy ion bombardment is used for stress relaxation during film deposition. A modified substrate bias voltage, combining negative high and low voltage pulses, is used to enable an ion bombardment of the growing film with energies up to 8 keV. In this way, cBN films with a stress as low as –1.7 GPa could be produced without destroying the sp3-bonds significantly.

Backround: Radiobiological and physical examinations suggest clinical advantages of heavy ion irradiation. We report the results of 23 women and 22 men (median age 48 years) with skull base tumors irradiated with carbon ion beams at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Darmstadt, from December 1997 until September 1999.
Patients and Methods: The study included patients with chordomas (17), chondrosarcomas (10) and other skull base tumors. It is the first time that the intensity-controlled rasterscan-technique and the application of positron emission tomography (PET) for quality assurance was used. All patients had computed tomography for three-dimensional treatment planning. Patients with chordomas and chondrosarcomas underwent fractionated carbon ion irradiation in 20 consecutive days (median total dose 60 GyE). Other histologies were treated with a carbon ion boost of 15 to 18 GyE delivered to the macroscopic tumor after fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (median total dose 63 GyE).
Results: Mean follow-up was 9 months. Irradiation was well tolerated by all patients. Partial tumor remission was seen in 7 patients (15.5%). One-year local control rate was 94%. One patient (2.2%) deceased. No severe toxicity and no local recurrence within the treated volume were observed.
Conclusion: Clinical effectiveness and technical feasibility of this therapy modality could clearly be demostrated in our study. To evaluate the clinical relevance of the different beam modalities studies with larger patient numbers are necessary. To continue our project a new heavy ion accelator exclusively for clinical use is planned to be constructed in Heidelberg.

Beams of heavy charged particles like protons or carbon ions represent the optimum tool for the treatment of deep seated, inoperable and radioresistant tumors growing in close vicinity to organs at risk. In contrast to photon therapy, the dose deposited by heavy charged particles increases with the penetration depth, culminating in a sharp maximum at the end of the particle range - the Bragg peak. This peak can be shifted in depth by energy variation and distributed laterally through magnetic deflection of the particle beam, thus allowing a precise and conform irradiation of the selected target volume. Furthermore, carbon ions offer the most conform irradiation due to their lower lateral scattering when compared to protons. In addition to this excellent physical selectivity, the biological efficiency concerning cell killing increases towards the end of carbon ion range. Therefore, the high dose at the Bragg peak is further enhanced by an increase in biological efficiency. Finally, by applying PET techniques, an in-situ dose localization control can be performed by tracing the small amount of beta⁺ emitters (¹¹C, ¹⁵O, ¹⁰C) which are produced in nuclear fragmentation reactions between the ¹²C projectiles and atomic nuclei in the target volume. A pilot tumor therapy unit that fully exploits the advantages of carbon ions is under operation at GSI since December 1997 and has now treadet more than 70 patients. Its mayor goal is to demonstrate the safe and routine application of charged particle beams for radiotherapy.

The performance of Hamamatsu S8550 avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays for scintillator matrices readout has been evaluated. The S8550 device is a monolithic 8 X 4 pixels structure with an active area of 2.56 mm² for each pixel. The device allows stable operation at gains up to 74, with a detection efficiency of about 60% for photons of 420 nm wavelength. It is characterized by a low noise equal to 27 electrons equivalent noise charge at room temperature. The energy resolution of 14.6%, for the 511 keV peak from ²2;Na source has been recorded with a 2 x 2 x 10 mm³ LSO crystal coupled to one pixel. The number of electron-hole pairs produced by the 511 keV photopeak absorbed in LSO is equal to 4830 ± 240 e-h/MeV. Coupling LSO scintillator crystals to individual pixels of the APD array a coincidence timing resolution of 3.0 ± 0.2ns FWHM has been measured for the 511 keV b3;-rays from a ²2;Na source. Finally, we compared the characteristics and readout performance of the Hamamatsu array with the results measured earlier under the same conditions for the quadrant large area avalanche photodiodes of Advanced Photonics Inc.

In this paper, we evaluate the performance of recently released avalanche photodiode arrays from Advanced Photonix, Inc. (API) for scintillator matrices readout. The Large Area Avalanche Photodiode (LAAPD) quadrant device is a monolithic 2x2 pixels structure with an active area of 5.3 mm² per pixel. The device allows stable operation with high gains up to 200, and detection efficiency of 73+-10 % for 420 nm photons. It is furthermore characterized by a high linear fill factor of 90 % and low noise equal to16 electrons ENC measured at room temperature. We have measured pixel-to-pixel gain non-uniformity smaller than 1.5 % and inter-pixel crosstalk of 1.7 % in the pulse mode operation with the device gain of 50. The energy resolution of 12.3+-0.5 % was achieved for the 511 keV photopeak from a ²²Na source placed on top of a 2x2x10 mm³ LSO crystal coupled to one pixel of quadrant LAAPD. An array of LSO crystals was later coupled to the device allowing individual crystal identification. Coincidence timing resolution of 1.9+-0.1 ns FWHM has been obtained for quadrant pixel with LSO scintillator for the 511 keV peak from ²²Na source. Finally, we compared the characteristics and readout performance of LAAPD array with published results of some commerciallly available APD arrays.

The Master Curve (MC) approach and the associated reference temperature, T0, as defined in the test standard ASTM E1921, is rapidly moving from the research laboratory to application in integrity assessment of components and structures. T0 is the index temperature for the universal MC, which considers the behaviour of a specific material. “The Structural Integrity Assessment Procedures for European Industry” (SINTAP) contain a MC extension for analysing the fracture behaviour shown by inhomogeneous ferritic steels statistically. This paper presents the application of the MC approach to the T0 determination of different types of Russian WWER-type reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels. In addition the SINTAP-MC approach was applied to determine an alternative reference temperature, TR.
The influence of different microstructures and compositions within one type of RPV steel and the effect of irradiation with fast neutrons on T0 are experimentally evaluated. In general the MC based T0 is about 72 K below the Charpy V-notch transition temperature related to an impact energy of 48J. The paper demonstrates the application of MC based T0 and TR as an alternative reference temperature for neutron embrittled RPV steels used in the RPV integrity assessment.

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The in-beam dual head positron camera BASTEI (Beta+ Activity meaSurements at the Therapy with Energetic Ions) is used to monitor and control the applied dose distributions simultaneously to tumor irradiations with carbon ion beams at the experimental heavy ion therapy facility at GSI Darmstadt. Therefore, the PET system has been mounted directly at the treatment site. A fully 3D reconstruction algorithm based on the Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization algorithm has been developed and adapted to a spatially varying imaging situation. The scatter and attenuation correction is applied to the measured list mode data before each iterative step. This requires an attenuation map containing the information on the tissue composition and densities. This information is derived from the X-ray computed tomograms (CT) of the patient and the patient fixation system including the head rest. The scatter correction is included into the forward projection step of the Maximum Likelihood image reconstruction. The normalization of scattered events relative to the unscattered events is done by a global scatter fraction factor. The results are presented.

The in beam dual head positron camera BASTEI (Beta+ Activity meaSurements at the Therapy with Energetic Ions) is used to monitor and control the applied dose distributions simultaneously to the irradiation of the therapeutic carbon ion beam at the experimental heavy ion therapy facility at GSI Darmstadt. Therefore, the PET system is mounted directly at the treatment site. A fully 3D reconstruction algorithm based on the Maximum Likelihood Estimator algorithm has been developed and adapted to a strongly spatially-varying imaging situation. A scatter and attenuation correction is applied to the measured listmode data prior to the image reconstruction. The scatter correction method uses the subtraction of scattered data from measured data.
In this particular PET-application the fluence of registered events at the detector surface is in the order of 10 to 102 cm-2 compared with about 102 to 103 cm-2 in conventional PET in nuclear medicine. The emission data are acquired in a 3D list mode. Since less than 100,000 out of approximately 4 millions coincidence channels typically contribute to the reconstruction all detected events have to be utilized. In addition, they cannot be sorted into sinograms because the necessary interpolation procedures would generate additional noise. Therefore the reconstruction algorithm takes the original emission data as input. The non-zero elements of the 3D transition matrix are calculated at run-time using a Monte-Carlo code that models the individual crystal responses along each coincidence channel. Results of the performance studies as well as examples of use are presented.

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Bei der Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt ist in den vergangenen Jahren eine experimentelle Anlage für die Krebstherapie mit Strahlen schwerer Ionen errichtet worden. Im Herbst 1997 sollen dort die ersten Tumorpatienten mit ¹²C Strahlen behandelt werden. Bei der Installation der Anlage und ihrem künftigen Betrieb kooperieren die Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung Darmstadt (GSI), das Deutsche Krebsforschungszentrum in Heidelberg (DKFZ), die Radiologischen Kliniken der Universitäten Heidelberg und Magdeburg sowie das Forschungszentrum Rossendorf. Der Rossendorfer Beitrag zur Therapieanlage besteht in der Entwicklung und Realisierung von Verfahren, welche die Positronen-Emissions-Tomographie (PET) für die Kontrolle der Schwerionen-Tumortherapie anwenden. Mit der Installation des in Rossendorf gebauten Positronen-Emissions-Tomographen am Therapieplatz in Darmstadt im Januar 1996 konnten die methodischen Vorarbeiten zum Einsatz von PET für die Tumortherapie mit schweren Ionen beginnen.

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Abstract wir von Dr. Geipel nachgereicht

Outline
Actinides are the fourteen elements, which follow the element actinium in the periodic table of elements. The first three actinides uranium, protactinium and thorium can be found in the nature, the other elements are artificial elements. Most speciation studies are carried with actinides from thorium to curium. The elements uranium, neptunium and plutonium show a wide variety of oxidation states. In tetravalent oxidation state the solubility is very low. In this oxidation state the hydrolysis is the most important reaction.

All these elements are radioactive. Therefore special laboratories to handle these elements are necessary. The concentration range for speciation studies with actinides is below 1 x 10-5 M. Therefore several speciation techniques, mostly basing on laser induced methods, are developed. A short overview in these methods will be given.

For thorium and protactinium only few data are available. Thorium does only exist in tetravalent oxidation state. Hydrolysis and phosphate speciation will be described. Protactinium exists in the pentavalent oxidation state and forms a dioxy-cation.

Most data are available for uranium speciation. Uranium exists in four oxidation states. Uranium-(III) is only stable in non-aqueous environments and plays therefore no role in speciation studies. Under reducing conditions uranium-(IV) is formed. Speciation examples for hydrolysis, sulfate, phosphate and arsenate will be given. In aqueous solutions uranium?(V) disproportionates into uranium-(IV) and uranium-(VI). Hexavalent uranium exists only as dioxy-cation.
In a next section environmental aspects of the uranium-(VI) speciation will be described. Uranium is found in more or less high concentrations in anywhere in the environment. Speciation examples from mining and milling will be described.
Uranium speciation in plants (as example for the food chain) will be described.
Neptunium forms oxidation states from +3 to + 7. Np(III) is slightly oxidized to Np(IV). The most stable oxidation states are Np(IV) and Np(V), the latter also forms a dioxy-cation. As example for environmental speciation the speciation of Np(V) with humic substances will be quoted.
Plutonium has oxidation states from + 3 to + 6. The redox potentials between these oxidation states are close together, so one can often find several oxidation states existing together. Examples for speciation in environment (here as specials case the Oklo mine in Gabun and results of bomb tests will be included) are shown, clinical and health aspects should be discussed (Pu is one of the most toxic elements).
Americium and Curium form trivalent ions in solution. These elements are important in waste repositories. Speciation in concentrated salt solutions and in mineral (calcite) phases are important examples for speciation in natural environments.
Actinides higher than Curium show at least short half-life. The long living isotopes are Berkelium 247 (1400 y), Californium 251 (900 y) and Einsteinium 252 (1.24 y). Fermium, Mendelevium, Nobelium and Lawrencium as well as the transactinide elements have half-life less than 1 y. Due to the very low production rates most of these elements are less relevant in speciation chemistry. Berkelium is found to have two oxidation states (III and V). Only few data on chloride and sulfate speciation are available.

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A secondary beam facility had been built at the end of last fiscal year and commenced the operation since the second term of HIMAC machine time. Optimum momentum spread was sought so as to compromise two contradictory factors, the blurring of sharp Bragg peak and broadening of the ¹¹C end-point distribution. Three types of irradiation, namely, focused beam irradiation, line irradiation and curved surface irradiation, were tested to see the uniformity of the irradiation field. The field uniformity turned out competent with the assessment of beam end-point in all cases, since it only affects the statistical noise in PET images that degrades indirectly the assessment of end-point. Preliminary irradiation tests were performed on rabbits to see biological half-life of ¹¹C in the thigh muscle of the rear leg.

In the application of positron emitting secondary beams to the verification of heavy ion treatment planning, the implanted radioactive isotopes undergo metabolism. Experiments on rabbit thigh muscle were performed using ¹¹C secondary beams from HIMAC. PET allows us three-dimensional imaging of the implanted ¹¹C, however, the early phase cannot be measured. The positron camera allows us in-situ measurement. By focusing the beam to narrow region, time-activity analysis of the volume of interest revealed the existence of faster metabolic component.

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Thin films NiTi (< 100 nm) having surface Ni content below 5 at. % were prepared by ion implanting Ni into Ti surfaces. The Ni containing phase exposed or buried within the Ti matrix was amorphous. Following an anodic oxidation in NaOH the material was shown to be redox active and promote the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose depending on the surface NiTi composition. Compared to the NiTi bulk alloy (55.9:44.08) the Ni implanted Ti displayed a more efficient catalytic activity and improved corrosion resistance.

Bubbly flow is encountered in a wide variety of industrial applications ranging from flows in nuclear reactors to process flows in chemical reactors. The presence of a second phase, re-circulating flow, instabilities of the gas plume and turbulence, complicate the hydrodynamics of bubble column reactors. This paper describes preliminary experimental and numerical results obtained in a rectangular bubble column with a cross-sectional area of 20 cm2. Images obtained from a high speed camera have been processed to calculate bubble velocities, bubble turbulence parameters and bubble size distributions. Gas disengagement technique was used to obtain the volume averaged gas fraction over a range of superficial gas velocities. Numerical calculations were performed with an Eulerian-Eulerian two–fluid model approach using the commercial code CFX-4.4. In this paper, the image processing algorithms and numerical modeling are discussed and an analysis of the preliminary results presented.

Proton-proton correlations of protons, deuterons and tritons with alpha particles from spectator decays following 197Au+197Au collisions at 1000 MeV per nucleon have been measured with two highly efficient detector sodoscopes. The constructed correlation functions, interpreted within the approximation of a simultaneous volume decay, dedicate a moderate expansion and low breakup densities, similar to assumptions made in statistical multifragmentation models.

Beams of heavy-charged particles of high energy like carbon ions are superior to any other type of radiation conventionally used in external radiotherapy. In contrast to photons and neutrons, the dose for the ions increases with penetration depth and culminates in a sharp maximum at the end of range. Due to the microscopic track structure this region of high energy deposition has an increased biological efficiency. In addition, a small amount of positron emitting isotopes is produced by the projectile and makes it possible to trace the beam inside the patient's body by PET techniques. At GSI an experimental heavy-ion therapy started with patient treatment. It is based on a totally active beam delivery and a biology-oriented treatment planning system in order to exploit the favourable particle properties to a maximum extent.

Kinetic energies of light fragments (A ? 10) from the decay of target spectators in 197Au + 197Au collisions at 1000 MeV per nucleon have been measured with high-resolution telescopes at backward angles. Except for protons and apart from the observed evaporation components, the kinetic-energy spectra exhibit slope temperatures of about 17 MeV, independent of the particle species, but not corresponding to the thermal or chemical degrees of freedom at breakup. It is suggested that these slope temperatures may reflect the intrinsic Fermi motion and thus the buld density of the spectator system at the instant of becoming unstable.

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Numerical investigations of the heat transfer from hot wires in near-wall measurements were carried out. Special attention was paid to the effect of the wall thickness, the flow conditions below the wall and the shear velocity connected to different wall
materials. Compared with previous studies, an improved physical model taking into account the flow region below the wall
in the computational domain was applied. The results obtained agree well with experimental data in the literature for walls consisting of both highly and poorly conducting materials. The investigation showed that the shear velocity $U_\tau$ has a significant influence on hot-wire measurements in the vicinity of a wall. Nevertheless, discernible effects of the wall thickness and the flow condition below the wall were found only in the case of a poorly conducting wall. In addition, the results also suggest a weak effect of the overheat ratio for a wire with an infinitely large aspect ratio.

Susceptibilitys contrast based MR perfusion measurement in contrast uptaking tissues are complicated by the contribution of the interstitially deposited contrast medium (CM) to the shortening of both T1 and T2. Applying double echo sequences, both contributions can be corrected for. In this paper, the consequences of different degrees of correction on perfusion parameters are investigated.

Positron emission tomography (PET) offers the possibility of in-situ monitoring the tumour treatment with light ion beams by means of imaging the spatial distribution of positron-activity that is produced as a byproduct of the therapeutic irradiation via nuclear fragmentation reactions between the projectiles and the atomic nuclei of the tissue within the target volume. The implementation of this PET technique at the experimental tumour therapy facility at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt and first results of its clinical application are presented.

Two-dimensional numerical investigations of the forced heat convection from a microcylinder in laminar cross-flow, both in free stream and in near-wall flow, were carried out aiming at a better understanding of the physics behind the wall effects on hot-wire near-wall measurements. In the physical model, an infinitely thin plate with the same properties as the fluid (air) was used as an
artificial wall. The conjugate heat transfer between the flow regions on both sides of the plate was taken into account. The effect of the conjugate thermal conditions (temperature distribution and diffusive heat flux) at the interface of the two flow regions on the heat transfer from the wire was investigated by varying the flow conditions on the side opposite to the wire location. Careful energy balance analysis was performed for both the free-stream case and the near-wall case. This enabled the authors to verify their own understanding of the physical mechanism responsible for the wall effect on hot-wire measurements and to examine other mechanisms proposed in the literature. The numerical results showed that the heat diffusion from the wire is significantly enhanced in the case of small wire-to-wall distances (Y+ < 3). This is mainly caused by modifications of the thermal boundary condition (diffusive effect) at the fluid-wall interface. In contrast, the flow distortion (enhanced convection) was shown not to be the most important influencing factor for the heat transfer of a hot wire. Although the present model study was performed for a laminar
flow, the results obtained are applicable to hot-wire measurements in turbulent flows, as stated in the literature.

A combined analytical-numerical method based on a matching asymptotic algorithm is proposed for treating angular (sharp corner or wedge) singularities in the numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. We adopt an asymptotic solution for the local flow around the angular points based on the Stokes flow approximation and a numerical solution for the global flow outside the singular regions using a finite-volume method. The coefficients involved in the analytical solution are iteratively updated by matching both solutions in a small region where the Stokes flow approximation holds. Moreover, an error analysis is derived for this method, which serves as a guideline for the practical implementation. The present method is applied to treat the leading-edge singularity of a semi-infinite plate. The effect of various influencing factors related to the implementation are evaluated with the help of numerical experiments. The investigation showed that the accuracy of the numerical solution for the flow around the leading edge can be significantly improved with the present method. The results of the numerical experiments support the error analysis and show the desired properties of the new algorithm, i.e., accuracy, robustness and efficiency. Based on the numerical results for the leading-edge singularity, the validity of various classical approximate models for the flow, such as the Stokes approximation, the inviscid flow model and the boundary layer theory of varying orders are examined.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are heptahelical transmembrane proteins. They transduce a large variety of extracellular signals, allowing perception of taste, odor, hormones, and light. Binding of an extracellular ligand induces structural changes in the cytosolic domain of a GPCR which, thereby, catalyzes nucleotide exchange in a G protein. Rhodopsins, the visual pigments, are prototypical GPCRs that are activated by photoisomerization of covalently bound 11-cis retinal. Unlike other GPCRs, bovine rhodopsin and transducin, its cognate G protein, can be prepared from cow eyes in large quantities for spectroscopic and biochemical investigations. Rhodopsin is the best studied GPCR and the only one for which an X-ray structure has been solved. Structural information together with the wealth of biophysical data on native and recombinant rhodopsins allows to determine structure function relationships that are relevant to GPCR-dependent signaling in general. Here, results from Fourier-transform-infrared (FTIR) spectrocopic studies of rhodopsin and measurements of nucleotide-dependent transducin fluorescence are reviewed. Intra- and intermolecular processes during signaling by the photoreceptor have thus been identified and analyzed kinetically. Recent applications of these techniques concern rhodopsin transducin coupling in synthetic lipidic matrices and analysis of drug action at the receptor G protein interface.The data are discussed in the context of the crystal structure of rhodopsin and additional biochemical information if required for the understanding of the spectroscopic results.

Si (100) and (111) crystals were irradiated in the random as well as in the channeling direction, using 5 MeV 19F+ ions, to a maximum dose of approximately 1×1017 particles/cm2. The occurring deep implanted profiles were subsequently investigated using the Resonant Nuclear Reaction Analysis technique in the energy range Ep=950-1200 keV. The reaction 19F(p, αγ)16O reaction exhibits a strong resonant behavior in the above mentioned energy range, thus providing an excellent tool for the depth profiling of fluorine, yielding minimum detection limits of the order of a few ppm. The occurring profiles are analyzed with SRIM and c-TRIM and an attempt is made to explain the peculiarities of the experimental spectra, as well as to compare with results already existing in literature

We have measured the nuclear transparency of the fundamental process gamma n to pi- p in 4He. These measurements were performed at Jefferson Lab in the photon energy range of 1.6 to 4.5 GeV and at theta_cmSUP>pi = 70 and 90 . These measurements are the first of their kind in the study of nuclear transparency in photoreactions. They also provide a benchmark test of Glauber calculations based on traditional models of nuclear physics. the transparency results suggest deviations from the traditional nuclear physics picture. The momentum transfer dependence of the measured nuclear transparency is consistent with Glauber calculations which include the quantum chromodynamics phenomenon of color transparency.

Double differential cross sections d2?/dpd? have been measured for ?+ and K+ emitted around midrapidity in d+A and ?+A collisions at a beam kinetic energy of 1.15 GeV/nucleon. The total ?+ yield increases by a factor of about 2 when using an alpha projectile instead of of a deuteron whereas the K+ yield increases by a factor of about 4. According to transport calculations, the K+ enhancement depends both on the number of hadron-hadron collisions: their center-of-mass energy increases with increasing number of projectile nucleons.

During the last decades, the focused ion beam (FIB) became a very useful and versatile tool in the microelectronics industry, as well as in the field of research and development. For special purposes like writing ion implantation or ion mixing in the µm- or sub-µm range ion species other than gallium are needed. Therefore alloy liquid metal ion sources (LMIS) were developed. The energy distribution of the ions from an alloy LMIS is one of the determining factors for the performance of an FIB column. Different source materials like Au73Ge27, Au82Si18, Au77Ge14Si9, Co36Nd64, Er69Ni31, and Er70Fe22Ni5Cr3 were investigated with respect to the energy spread of the different ion species as a function of emission current I, ion mass m and emitter temperature T. For singly charged ions a predicted dependence of the energy spread, DE µ I2/3 m1/3 T1/2 found for Ga could be reasonable confirmed. The alloy LMIS`s discussed above have been used in the Rossendorf FIB system IMSA-100 especially for writing implantation to fabricate sub-µm pattern without any lithographic steps. A Co-FIB obtained from a Co36Nd64 alloy LMIS was applied for the ion beam synthesis of CoSi2 micro-structures down to 60 nm. Additionally, the possibility of varying the current density of the FIB by changing the pixel dwell-time was used for investigations of radiation induced damage and its dynamic annealing in Si and SiC at elevated implantation temperatures. Furthermore, a broad spectrum of ions was employed to study the sputtering process depending on temperature, angle of incidence and ion mass on a couple of target materials using the volume loss method. Especially this direct patterning 3D technique was used for the fabrication of various kinds of micro-tools.
All these examples underline the importance of FIBs in modern research and the new possibilities opened up by a mass separated system applying a broad spectrum of ion species.

Sophisticated microstructural analysis methods like small angle neutron scattering and atom probe field ion microscopy have proven the presence of so-called multicomponent clusters due to neutron irradiation in ferritic reactor pressure vessel steels. The formation of such clusters is surprising from the thermodynamic point of view. The cluster formation from the solid solution was modelled as phase transformation of the first kind that corresponds to the negative minimum of the so-called thermodynamic force under consideration of six components. The essential parameter is the sum of interaction energy between all pairs of atoms in the system. The approach result in stable multicomponent cluster if the clusters exhibit a high content of vacancies and a core-shell structure with very high vacancy content within the shell. The kinetics background of the suggested model was investigated using the cluster dynamic approach generalized for multiple components. The computed results are consistent with the experimental findings.

Aim. To investigate the mechanisms and dynamics of cholesteryl ester (neutral lipid) transfer protein activity in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. Methods. Eighty six Caucasian subjects were recruited by advertisement from the local population between January 1998 and December 1999. The activity of cholesteryl ester transfer protein in 44 non-obese subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (plasma triglycerides 1.56-/+0.64 mmol/L; high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol 0.96-/+0.25 mmol/L; and plasma insulin 78-/+8 pmol/L) and in 42 normoglycemic controls (plasma triglycerides 0.88-/+0.41 mmol/L; HDL cholesterol 1.48-/+0.29 mmol/L; and plasma insulin 38-/+14 pmol/L) was measured with a new fluorometric assay. Results. Cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity was increased in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance by 47% (39.5-/+7.8 vs 26.8-/+6.8 nmol/mL x h-1; t-test, p<0.05). Linear regression analysis showed that cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance significantly correlated with the following parameters: plasma triglycerides (r=0.614, p<0.05), HDL-triglycerides (r=0.595, p<0.05), percentage of HDL-triglyceride (r=0.667, p<0.05), percentage of HDL cholesterol ester (r=-0.751, p<0.01), percentage of HDL phospholipid (r=0.648, p<0.05), 2-h-insulin (r=0.668, p<0.05), and 2-h-proinsulin (r=0.658, p<0.01). In a subgroup of 13 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance, cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity correlated with HDL apoA-I fractional catabolic rate (r=0.701, p<0.01). In normoglycemic subjects, significant correlations were found only between cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity and percentage of HDL-triglycerides (r=0.541, p<0.05), percentage of HDL cholesteryl ester (r=-0.639, p<0.01), 2-h-proinsulin (r=0.642, p<0.05), and HDL apoA-I fractional catabolic rate (n=10, r=0.587, p<0.05). Conclusion. Cholesteryl ester transfer is important for HDL composition and HDL catabolism both in normoglycemic subjects and subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. Under insulin resistant conditions, increased cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity modulates HDL metabolism more drastically than in normoglycemic conditions. This modulation may be explained by increased availability of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins for neutral lipid exchange in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance.

Several in vitro investigations showed that serum paraoxonase 1 (PON1) that is located on high-density lipoprotein reduces or prevents low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and therefore retards atherosclerosis. Accordingly, the well documented loss of PON1 activity in patients with overt diabetes mellitus was causally related to the development of micro- and macroangiopathy in the disease course. Because vascular complications start already in prediabetic states, e.g. impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), we investigated serum PON1 activities and circulating levels of oxidized LDL (oxLDL) in 125 IGT subjects, 75 patients with newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus type 2, and 403 individuals with normal glucose tolerance. Using three different substrates (paraoxon, phenylacetate, p-nitrophenylacetate) we found that PON1 activity is not significantly altered in IGT and diabetes mellitus subjects, respectively, when compared with normoglycemic controls. Both IGT subjects and diabetes mellitus patients had significantly increased levels of oxLDL in the circulation. However, serum PON1 activity variations and glutamine/arginine phenotype were not related to the levels of oxLDL. The data suggest that 1) PON1 activity loss is an event occurring later in the course of diabetes mellitus; and 2) PON1 does not affect oxidation of circulating LDL, at least in early diabetes mellitus.

N(O,S)-Ethoxycarbonyltrifluoroethyl amino acid esters are formed by the reaction of amino acids with ethylchloroformate plus trifluoroethanol plus pyridine. The use of these derivatives for a rapid and sensitive determination of 3-chlorotyrosine, a highly specific marker of myeloperoxidase-catalyzed protein oxidation, by using standard gas chromatography/electron impact mass spectrometry, is discussed.

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis is an effective treatment option for patients with severe hypercholesterolemia not adequately responding to diet and drug therapy. Membrane differential filtration (MDF), synonymous with double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP), here named Lipidfiltration, and heparin-induced extracorporeal LDL-precipitation (HELP) are two of the five methods available for extracorporeal LDL apheresis. In this prospective investigation 6 patients with severe LDL-hypercholesterolemia and CAD were treated in a cross-over design with Lipidfiltration at two stages of technical development and HELP to compare the efficacy of these two LDL apheresis methods with respect to lowering and modifying plasma lipids and rheologically relevant plasma proteins, especially fibrinogen. In total, 44 LDL apheresis sessions were investigated. In weekly intervals, patients were treated with consecutive LDL apheresis sessions with either Lipidfiltration and HELP, treating identical plasma volumes. In one part of the investigation Lipidfiltration was performed with the novel Lipidfilter EC-50, combined with a newly developed blood and plasma therapy machine allowing optimized plasma heating. The results showed that the reduction rates of LDL-cholesterol, lipoprotein(a) and triglycerides were essentially identical for both methods. Also pretreatment levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were not significantly different in both treatment groups. Both methods lead to a significant reduction of serum lipoproteins, especially for LDL-cholesterol, which was decreased by 61.4% with Lipidfiltration (treated plasma volume: 2998 ml) and 61.3% with HELP (treated plasma volume: 3013 ml). With respect to Lipidfiltration LDL-cholesterol reduction was more efficient with the novel Lipidfilter EC-50. Mean pretreatment HDL cholesterol concentrations remained unchanged. Comparing Cascadeflo AC-1770 with the novel Lipidfilter EC-50 reduction rates of HDL-cholesterol (17.4% versus 6.4%) and total protein (17.9% versus 7.8%) were significantly reduced. Lipidfiltration and HELP both resulted in a reduction of plasma viscosity and hemorheologically relevant plasma proteins, like fibrinogen.

Over the last 3 years in-beam PET has proven its capability of quality assurance in carbon ion tumour therapy at the pilot project of cancer therapy at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany. In this paper we investigate the possibility of using LSO as the scintillation material for the next generation of in-beam PET cameras. We address the issue of background coincidences arising from the natural radioactivity of LSO. Because the true count rate measured with a BGO-based dual-head positron camera (total sensitive area of each head 21 x 42 cm²) during the cancer treatment averages at only 100 coincidences/s we studied the influence of the LSO backround on realistic in-beam PET-images.

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The new TOPFLOW facility of the Forschungszentrum Rossendorf allows investigations of two-phase flow phenomena in vertical pipes with an inner diameter up to 194 mm (DN200) and a length up to 8.5 m. The maximum water mass flow of 50 kg/s equals to a superficial velocity of 1.7 m/s in such a pipe, while the maximum air flow rate of 900 m3/h corresponds to a superficial velocity of 8 m/s. For the measurements presented here, a wire-mesh sensor with 64*64 measuring points was installed. It corresponds to a lateral resolution of 3 mm. The senor delivers instantaneous void fraction distributions over the entire cross section with a time resolution of 2500 frames per second, which can be used for fast flow visualisation as well as to obtain averaged void fraction profiles and bubble size distributions. Earlier, similar experiments were carried out at a 51.2 mm pipe. In this case, sensors with 16x16 and 24x24 points were applied. A comparison of the data obtained for the two diameters allows to identify the effects of scaling on void fraction profiles, bubbles size distributions and the flow patterns. In the small pipe, the increase of the air flow rate leads to a transition from bubbly to slug flow. In the bubble size distributions a second peak corresponding to the class of large Taylor bubbles respectively gas plugs was found in the slug flow region. In the large pipe at identical superficial velocities a similar behaviour was found, though the large bubble fraction has a significantly bigger mean diameter, the peak is less high but wider. This reflects the fact that large bubbles move more freely than in the small pipe. The transition from a mono-modal to a bimodal bubble size distribution starts in both pipes, if bubbles with an equivalent diameter larger 1/3 of the pipe diameter occur. Due to the less pronounced confining action of the pipe walls, the bubbles show much more deformations. Their shape can be complicated and far from an ideal Taylor bubble. The small bubble fraction can also develop more freely in the large pipe. This is reflected by a wider bubble size distribution in the small bubble region. Small bubbles that surround the large bubbles obstruct the view and lead to the empirical impression of a direct transition from bubbly to churn turbulent flow.

Heavy-ion radiotherapy gives a good localized dose distribution just on a cancer tumor. In order to emphasize this advantage, the verification system of a particle range and an irradiated area in a human body has been developed for the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) at National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS). The idea comes from the fact that the stopping position of a short-lived positron emitting nuclei, such as ¹¹C, ¹⁵O or ¹⁹Ne, can be precisely detected by measuring annihilation gamma-rays.

In this seminar the production of nanopatterning by ion beam sputtering (IBS) is presented, namely ripple and dot morphologies. The work is focused on the irradiation of Si surfaces but a general view of this research field is also discussed. Finally, the search of potential applications for these nanostructures is addresed.

Middle frequency dual reactive magnetron sputter deposition was used in order to prepare the Indium tin oxide (ITO) films with an optimum of resistance and transmittance. The films were deposited on Si covered with 500 nm SiO2 and soda lime glass substrates. The plasma ions and neutrals flow parameters have been studied during the deposition process by the Langmuir probe, HIDEN analyzer, and optical emission spectroscopy. Complex characterization of the ITO films have been carried out in order to relate their properties with pulsed magnetron operation parameters. The optical constants and the thickness of these films were determined by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) operating within the wavelength range l=300-1700 nm. The optical transmittance was measured for l=350-2000 nm. Four probe technique was used to determine the film specific resistance. The dependence of the ITO film properties on the O2/Ar partial pressure relation was obtained similarly to known researches. The influence of the pulse duration and base pressure level on the film characteristics was detected. The decrease of the magnetron pulse on-time to the values of about 50 micro seconds, leads to strong increase of the films resistance at their high transmittance. The AFM data for these samples demonstrated five-times increase of the film grain sizes compared to those obtained at the on-time values 100 micro seconds. The observed decrease of optical transmittance in the near IR spectral range corresponds to the decrease of the film resistance. High optical transmittance at low resistance is found only at certain relation between the free electron plasma and relaxation frequency. The grading of optical constants was revealed by SE while the other techniques did not show depth grading of the film properties. Annealing of the ITO films in air atmosphere reduces the film resistance.

Die Positronen-Emissions-Tomographie (PET) bei der Schwerionentherapie ist eine wichtige Methode zur Qualitätskontrolle in der Tumortherapie mit Kohlenstoffionen. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die Verbesserungen des PET-Verfahrens, wodurch sich in der Folge präzisere Aussagen zur Dosisapplikation treffen lassen. Aufbauend auf den Grundlagen (Kap. 2) werden die Neuentwicklungen in den drei darauf folgenden Abschnitten (Modellierung des Abbildungsprozesses bei der PET, Streukorrektur für PET bei der Schwerionentherapie, Verarbeitung der rekonstruierten PET-Daten) beschrieben. Die PET-Methode bei der Schwerionentherapie basiert auf dem Vergleich zwischen den gemessenen und vorausberechneten Aktivitätsverteilungen. Die verwendeten Modelle in der Simulation (Erzeugung der Positronenemitter, deren Ausbreitung, der Transport und der Nachweis der Annihilationsquanten) sollten so präzise wie möglich sein, damit ein aussagekräftiger Vergleich möglich wird. Die Genauigkeit der Beschreibung der physikalischen Prozesse wurde verbessert und zeiteffiziente Algorithmen angewendet, die zu einer erheblichen Verkürzung der Rechenzeit führen. Die erwarteten bzw. die gemessenen räumlichen Radioaktivitätsverteilungen werden mit einem iterativen Verfahren rekonstruiert [Lau99]. Die gemessenen Daten müssen hinsichtlich der im Messobjekt auftretenden Comptonstreuung der Annihilationsphotonen korrigiert werden. Es wird ein geeignetes Verfahren zur Streukorrektur für die Therapieüberwachung vorgeschlagen und dessen Realisierung beschrieben. Zur Einschätzung der Güte der Behandlung wird die gemessene und die simulierte Aktivitätsverteilung verglichen. Dazu wurde im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit eine Software entwickelt, das die rekonstruierten PET-Daten visualisiert und die anatomischen Informationen des Röntgentomogramms mit einbezieht. Nur durch dieses Auswerteverfahren war es möglich, Fehler im physikalischen Strahlmodell aufzudecken und somit die Bestrahlungsplanung zu verbessern.

Kinematographically complete measurement of the pp to ppc0;⁰ reaction were performed for beam energies in the range 292 - 298 MeV. By detecting both protons in coincidence with the large acceptance COSY-TOF spectrometer set up at an external beam line of the proton synchrotron COSY-Jülich, total and differential cross sections and energy distributions were obtained. A strong enhancement is observed in the Dalitz plots resulting from the final state interaction between the outgoing proton pair; the data are well reproduced by Monte Carlo simulations with standard parameters for scattering lengths a0 = 7.83 fm and effective range r0 = 2.8 fm. The total cross section exceed the ones measured recently in internal target experiments at IUCF and CELSIUS by roughly 50%. Arguments are presented which link this discrepancy with the effect of the final state interaction pushing yield into the very small-angle region and the near-impossibility of an internal target experiment to cover just this range.

The reaction pp to pp η was measured at excess energies of 15 and 41 MeV at an external target of the Jülich Cooler Synchrotron COSY with the time-of-flight spectrometer. About 25000 events were measured for the excess energy of 15 MeV and about 8000 for 41 MeV. Both protons of the process pp η were detected with an acceptance of nearly 100 % and the η was reconstructed by the missing-mass technique. For both excess energies the angular distributions are found to be nearly isotropic. In the invariant-mass distributions strong derivations from the pure phase space distributions are seen.

The CIRCUS test facility (Circulation during startup) has been built to study the start-up phase of a natural-circulation BWR. During the start-up so called flashing-induced instabilities can arise. These instabilities are induced by flashing, due to steam production in the long adiabatic riser section, which is placed above the core to enhance the flow rate. Flashing occurring in the riser causes an unbalance between driving force and pressure losses in the natural-circulation loop, giving rise to flow oscillations.

Within the European-Union 5th Framework Programme, a project, NACUSP, has been started in December 2000, having as one of its main aims the understanding of the physics of the phenomena involved during the start-up phase of natural-circulation-cooled BWRs, providing a large experimental database and validating state-of-the-art thermalhydraulic codes in the low-pressure, low-power operational region of these reactors.

One part of this project deals with the modeling of selected CIRCUS tests using the thermo-hydraulic code ATHLET. This paper gives an overview about experimental results and the physics of the instabilities. ATHLET is used to investigate the dynamic behavior of the CIRCUS test facility and the results of the calculations are compared with the experimental data.

Mössbauer-effect study of metastable c-FeSi synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and by ion implantation

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In the last years, there were several reports about the enhanced risk from irradiation with soft X-rays (below 50 keV). This energy range is relevant for diagnostic radiology, such as mammography, radiotherapy, and for the application of novel radiotherapy approaches such as use of miniature X-ray devices. In order to study this phenomenon, the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of the X-rays in this energy range has to be determined more precisely. Experiments for determination of biological response after conventional X-ray tube irradiation were performed at TU Dresden. Cell survival for NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblasts was measured for soft X-rays (25 kV) and reference X-rays (200 kV). RBE value of 1.28 ± 0.5 was determined from the linear-quadratic model fit at 10% survival level. Further endpoint to be studied is the formation of micronuclei. At present, experiments are performed on human keratinocytes and chinese hamster fibroblasts. However, the precise determination of the energy dependence of RBE has to be performed by means of irradiation with a monochromatic source. One of the applications of the superconducting electron linear accelerator ELBE, at present under construction at Forschungscentrum Rossendorf, will be to provide such X-rays. The first cell irradiation will be performed with X-rays in the range 10 - 50 keV generated by channeling radiation from relativistic electrons in a diamond crystal. The properties of the electron beam (picosecond structure) as well as the intrinsic energy and intensity distribution of the channeling radiation require consideration of precise dose delivery and monitoring, the results of which will be also presented.

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