Development of a Setup for the Discrimination of β+ and γ Rays

Abstract

A β⁺–γ discrimination set‐up was developed and applied to the ²²Na radioisotope. The radioisotope emits positrons (β⁺) and these positrons create γ rays by annihilating with electrons. These annihilation γ rays were used here, and the discrimination between these positrons and γ rays was investigated by the coincidence measurement between time signals and the energy signals. The detection system presented here uses a 3 inch (diameter) by 3 inch (length) NaI(Tl) inorganic scintillation detector for γ detection and 3 inch (diameter) by 3 inch (length) plastic scintillation detector for β⁺ detection.     

Determination of Linear Attenuation Coefficients of Materials by Using Timing Method

Abstract

In this work, gamma-ray linear attenuation coefficients of aluminum (Al) and lead (Pb) materials were determined by using timing method. The used setup is different from the conventional ones. The goal of the presented setup is the fact that it is used the timing technique. The detection system is composed of a 3″ × 3″ NaI(Tl) inorganic scintillation detector and related equipment together with ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co radioactive sources. Obtained results are in good agreement with each other.     

Improving the MCA Spectra of BC‐400 Plastic Scintillation Detectors at Room Temperature

Abstract

In the presented work, the leading edge timing and constant fraction discrimination timing techniques were applied to beta rays emitted from a ¹³⁷Cs radioactive source through the developed spectrometers in order to improve the beta energy spectrum of the source. The energy spectra, with and without the techniques, were obtained with a BC‐400 plastic scintillation detector. The obtained spectra were compared with each other for the elimination of spurious pulses, which rise from background, backscattering, scattering, and any radiations other than the source, on the multichannel analyzer output.     

Foresight analysis of wind power in Turkey

The Turkish wind energy industry is one of the most competitive and fastest growing industries in the energy sector. Industrial energy demands, Kyoto agreement and carbon trade are shown as probable causes. Currently, Turkey has a total installed capacity of about 48.5 GW for electricity from all energy sources. High energy prices and unstable suppliers have stimulated Turkey's growing interest in wind business and wind power. This paper analyzes Turkey's wind energy future perspective and power generation strategy with a view to explaining Delphi approach to wind energy development. In this study, the two‐round Delphi survey was conducted by experts to determine and measure the expectations of the sector representatives through online surveys where a total of 70 experts responded from 24 different locations. The majority of the Delphi survey respondents were from 23 different universities (60%), electricity generation industries (21%), two different governmental organizations (11%), nongovernmental organizations (6%) and other institutions (2%). The article discusses not only the expert sights on wind energy technology but also all bibliometrical approaches. The results showed that Turkey's wind power installed capacity is expected to exceed 40 GW by the end of the 2020 s and in the middle of the 2030 s, and Turkey would be the European leading country in the field of electricity generation from the wind. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of polyphenolic constituents and biological activities of bark extracts from different Pinus species

BACKGROUND: The most common commercially available pine bark extract is Pycnogenol^®, a standardised extract of Pinus maritima, which has been reported to have cardiovascular benefits and enhance microcirculation. The present study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of four pine bark extracts, assess their biological activities and to compare the results with Pycnogenol^®. RESULTS: The Pinus species were analysed by LC and LC‐MS; extracts of P. brutia and P. nigra showed higher levels of phenolic constituents compared to P. sylvestris and P. pinea. In particular, P. brutia contained extremely high concentrations of taxifolin (18.5%). The highest radical scavenging activities were attained with P. pinea (88.6%), P. nigra (87.2%) and P. brutia (86.4%) bark extracts. Additionally, anticarcinogenic effects of the extracts and their kinetics were determined in four cell lines including human prostate (PC‐3, DU 145, LNCaP) and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7) by the MTT assay. Cell viability was reduced to 40% by extracts of P. pinea, and P. sylvestris in PC‐3 cells showing a similar effect like the positive control, CPT‐11. CONCLUSION: Pinus species other than P. maritima definitively possess high biological activities, and therefore present a huge potential to be utilised in the food and the pharmaceutical industries. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

An Application of a Timing Measurement: Separation of a Photo Peak

Abstract

A discrimination set‐up was developed to obtain a neat photo peak. To evaluate the experimental performance of the set‐up, the spectrometer system was tested on the photo peak of ¹³⁷Cs. The separation of the photo peak from the non‐photo peak radiations such as Compton effect, annihilation, background, scattering, etc., was achieved adequately.     

An Apparatus to Obtain a Pure Annihilation Peak

Abstract

A timing discrimination set‐up was developed and the discrimination method was applied to the annihilation gamma ray peak of the ²²Na radioisotope. The annihilation peak was discriminated from the superimposed photon spectrum generated by the Compton effect, backscattering, and background in the 0.5 MeV energy region. A NaI(Tl) inorganic scintillation detector was used to detect the annihilation gamma rays of the radioisotope. Energy resolution of 9.1% was obtained for the discriminated annihilation peak. The developed spectrometer has achieved the discrimination of the annihilation counts and the photo peak counts superimposed on them.     

A Method to Improve Gamma Energy Resolution of BC-420 Type Organic Scintillation Detector

Instruments and Experimental Techniques - Currently, plastic (organic) scintillators are using in new type positron emission tomography (PET) devices such as J-PET. But, these type scintillators...     

A method to determine the gamma-ray linear attenuation coefficient

In this work, gamma-ray linear attenuation coefficients of the materials such as Pb, Fe, Cu and Al were determined by means of traditional energy method and the developed timing detection technique. 1.33 MeV-energy radiation emitted from ⁶⁰Co radioisotope was used in the experiments. The gamma-ray linear attenuation coefficient values of the materials were calculated by using Xcom code, and the experimental results were compared with the theoretical ones.