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KASCADE-Grande was an air-shower experiment aimed to investigate cosmic rays between 1016and 1018eV. The instrument was located at the site of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany at an altitude of 110 m a.s.l. and covered an area of 0.5 km2. KASCADE-Grande consisted of several detector systems dedicated to measure different components of the cosmic ray induced air showers, e.g. the muon content (Eth> 230 MeV) and the number of charged particles (Eth> 3 MeV) at ground, which are the basis for several energy and composition studies of cosmic rays. In this contribution, using these observables, the KASCADE-Grande data is divided into light and heavy mass groups and their respective muon densities are reconstructed at different zenith angle intervals. The results are compared with the expectations of the post-LHC hadronic-interaction models, EPOS-LHC and QGSJET-II-04, in order to test the validity of the model predictions.

Aims. We wish to study the spectral dependence of the radio emission from cosmic-ray air showers around $100~{\rm PeV}$$(10^{17}~{\rm eV})$.

Aims. We want to understand the emission mechanism of radio emission from air showers to determine the origin of high-energy cosmic rays. Therefore, we study the geometry of the air shower radio emission measured with LOPES and search for systematic effects between the direction determined on the radio signal and the direction provided by the particle detector array KASCADE.

The KASCADE-Grande experiment operated at KIT from January 2004 to November 2012, measuring Extensive Air Showers (EAS) generated by primary cosmic rays in the 1016–1018eVenergy range. The experiment measured, for each single event, with a high resolution, the total number of charged particles (Nch) and of muons (Nμ).

Litter characteristics at birth were recorded in 4 genetic types of sows with differing maternal abilities. Eighty-two litters from F1Duroc × Large White sows, 651 litters from Large White sows, 63 litters from Meishan sows, and 173 litters from Laconie sows were considered. Statistical models included random effects of sow, litter, or both; fixed effects of sow genetic type, parity, birth assistance, and piglet sex, as well as gestation length, farrowing duration, piglet birth weight, and litter size as linear covariates. The quadratic components of the last 2 factors were also considered. For statistical analyses, GLM were first considered, assuming a binomial distribution of stillbirth. Hierarchical models were also fitted to the data to take into account correlations among piglets from the same litter. Model selection was performed based on deviance and deviance information criterion. Finally, standard and robust generalized estimating equations (GEE) procedures were applied to quantify the importance of each effect on a piglet's probability of stillbirth. The 5 most important factors involved were, in decreasing order (contribution of each effect to variance reduction): difference between piglet birth weight and the litter mean (2.36%), individual birth weight (2.25%), piglet sex (1.01%), farrowing duration (0.99%), and sow genetic type (0.94%). Probability of stillbirth was greater for lighter piglets, for male piglets, and for piglets from small or very large litters. Probability of stillbirth increased with sow parity number and with farrowing duration. Piglets born from Meishan sows had a lower risk of stillbirth (P< 0.0001) and were little affected by the sources of variation mentioned above compared with the 3 other sow genetic types. Standard and robust GEE approaches gave similar results despite some disequilibrium in the data set structure highlighted with the robust GEE approach.

Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) with a particle-beam (PB) interface was investigated as a new method for the analysis of carotenoids. The applicability of this LC/MS technique was evaluated for the determination of carotenes (lycopene, β-carotene) and xanthophylls (astaxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin). Reversed-phase separation of carotenoids was carried out using two in-series narrow-bore columns in gradient-mode; analytes were detected under electron-capture negative-ion chemical ionization (NCI) conditions. The use of additives (ammonium acetate, triethylamine) in the LC mobile phase was investigated and the performance of the PB interface was improved in terms of better sensitivity and linearity. Under selected-ion monitoring NCI-MS conditions the absolute detection limits of carotenes were in the 0.2–3 ng range, whereas for the xanthophylls it was in the 0.02–20 ng range. To study the effect of the addition of the mobile phase modifiers on the PB-MS behaviour of carotenoids, three-way analysis of variance with interactions was applied, which provided evidence for a statistically significant effect of the additives. By applying LC/PB-NCI-MS, characterization of carotenoids in microalgae was successfully performed. NCI mass spectra confirmed the identity of some of the carotenoids investigated; in addition,­α-cryptoxanthin and echinenone were detected in the extract. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background: Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a hereditary disease characterized by more than 100 adenomas scattered in the large bowel and by various extracolonic manifestations. We proposed a) to establish the frequency of the disorder in Northern Italy, b) to describe the most relevant clinical findings, and c) in a subgroup of 21 patients (from 8 families), to evaluate the spectrum of mutations of the APC gene.Methods and Results: Patients with FAP diagnosed between 1961 and 1991 were referred to our Study Group from surgery and gastroenterology units of the region Emilia-Romagna. The incidence of FAP was in the order of 1 in 16,500, with about a third of patients being 'single' cases. Colorectal malignancies were present in 75.6% of symptomatic patients but absent in most (93.75%) of the asymptomatic family members ('call-up' individuals). Gastric, duodenal, and jejunal adenomas were found in 8.2%, 30.6% and 53.3% of the investigated patients, respectively. Congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium and occult jaw lesions were seen in 64.7% and 39.5% of FAP patients but only in 0.5% and 2.5% of a matched, by age and sex, control population. These two clinical markers had a specificity of 99% and 97%, although their sensitivity was 64% and 39%. Finally, mutations of the APC gene were detected in 6 families (16 affected individuals) of the 8 families (21 affected individuals) tested; no correlation could be found between genotype and phenotype.Conclusions: This study confirms that early diagnosis is essential for an appropriate management of FAP patients, although this aim remains elusive in single cases. High-risk individuals are ideal candidates for APC gene mutation analysis, which should be offered to all first-degree relatives of affected patients.

The shape and composition of the primary spectrum of cosmic rays are key elements to understand the origin, acceleration and propagation of the Galactic cosmic rays. Besides the well known knee and ankle features, the recent results of KASCADE-Grande indicate that the measured energy spectrum exhibits also a less pronounced but still clear deviation from a single power law between the knee and the ankle, with a spectral hardening at 2 × 10 16 eV and a steepening at 10 17 eV. The average mass composition gets heavier after the knee till 10 17 eV where a bending of the heavy component is observed. An indication of a hardening of the light component just above 10 17 eV has been measured as well. In this paper the major results obtained so far by the KASCADE-Grande experiment are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LOPES is a digital radio interferometer located at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, that measures radio emission from extensive air showers at MHz frequencies in coincidence with KASCADE-Grande. In this article, we explore a method (slope method) that leverages the slope of the measured radio lateral distribution to reconstruct crucial attributes of primary cosmic rays. First, we present an investigation of the method on the basis of pure simulations. Second, we directly apply the slope method to LOPES measurements. Applying the slope method to simulations, we obtain uncertainties on the reconstruction of energy and depth of shower maximum (Xmax) of 13% and 50 g/cm2, respectively. Applying it to LOPES measurements, we are able to reconstruct energy and Xmax of individual events with upper limits on the precision of 20%-25% for the primary energy and 95 g/cm² for Xmax, despite strong human-made noise at the LOPES site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cosmic ray particles hit the Earthʼs atmosphere and induce extensive air showers (EAS). These EAS mainly consist of electrons and positrons that produce radio emission due to their interaction with the Earthʼs magnetic field. Measuring this radio emission is the purpose of the LOPES (LOFAR Prototype Station) experiment. LOPES is located at Campus North of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology at the same site as the EAS particle detector KASCADE-Grande. Since the first measurements in 2003, LOPES was improved by various experimental setups and could establish the radio technique. By now, detailed studies of the measured radio signal are performed, like the behaviour of the lateral distribution or the polarization of the electric field. Furthermore, with LOPES the dependence of the radio pulse on properties of the incoming cosmic ray, like primary energy, primary mass, or incoming direction is investigated. In this article we describe the different LOPES setups, next we explain our standard analysis procedure and then we discuss some highlights of our recent results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proton-air inelastic cross section measurement at from the EAS-TOP Extensive Air Shower experiment is reported. The technique exploits cosmic ray proton primaries, in the energy region , studying the absorption length of their cascades when detected at maximum development. Primary energies are selected through the EAS muon number (), and proton originated cascades at maximum development by means of the shower size (). The shower and detector fluctuations are obtained with simulations performed using the CORSIKA code and the QGSJET II and SIBYLL interaction models. The simulations provide the conversion factor (), from the observed absorption length () to the interaction length (). The obtained value of the p-air inelastic cross section at is . The relevant issue of systematic uncertainties have been studied. The connections with the pp () total cross section measurements are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Predictions of the hadronic interaction model EPOS 1.61 as implemented in the air shower simulation program CORSIKA are compared to observations with the KASCADE experiment. The investigations reveal that the predictions of EPOS are not compatible with KASCADE measurements. The discrepancies seen are most likely due to use of a set of inelastic hadronic cross sections that are too high. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A large area (128m 2) Muon Tracking Detector (MTD), located within the KASCADE experiment, has been built with the aim to identify muons () and their directions in extensive air showers by track measurements under more than 18 r.l. shielding. The orientation of the muon track with respect to the shower axis is expressed in terms of the radial- and tangential angles. By means of triangulation the muon production height is determined. By means of , a transition from light to heavy cosmic ray primary particles with increasing shower energy from 1–10 PeV is observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

LOPES measures radio pulses from extensive air showers and aims to calibrate the emitted signal in the primary energy range of 1016–1018 eV. LOPES, a digital radio interferometer using high bandwidths and fast data processing, is set up at the location of the KASCADE-Grande extensive air shower experiment in Karlsruhe, Germany and profits from the reconstructed air shower observables of KASCADE-Grande. We report about recent analysis results of the radio signals measured by LOPES. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Previous EAS investigations have shown that the charged particle density becomes independent of the primary mass at certain distances from the shower core and can be used as an estimator for the primary energy. In the context of the KASCADE-Grande experiment, the particular distance to shower core at which t his effect takes place is around 500 m, hence the study at this particular distance and the notation S(500) for the charged particle density. It has been shown that S(500) maps the primary energy. We present results of further investigations in this direction. An attenuation correction function can be derived from the S(500) attenuation with the EAS angle of incidence, allowing us to build an all event S(500) spectrum. In view of a future conversion of the recorded S(500) spectrum to the primary energy, based on simulations a calibration of the observed S(500) values with the primary energies has been worked out (in the energy range accessible to the KASCADE-Grande array, ). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The constant intensity cut method is a very useful tool to reconstruct the cosmic ray energy spectrum in order to combine or compare extensive air shower data measured for different attenuation depths independently of the MC model. In this contribution the method is used to explore the muon data of the KASCADE-Grande experiment. In particular, with this technique, the measured muon number spectra for different zenith angle ranges are compared and summed up to obtain a single muon spectrum for the measured showers. Preliminary results are presented, along with estimations of the systematic uncertainties associated with the analysis technique. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Muon Tracking Detector in the KASCADE-Grande EAS experiment allows the precise measurement of shower muon directions up to 700 m distance from the shower center. This directional information is used to study the pseudorapidity of muons in EAS, closely related to the pseudorapidity of their parent mesons. Moreover, the mean value of muon pseudorapidity in a registered shower reflects the longitudinal development of its hadronic component. All of this makes it a good tool for testing hadronic interaction models. The possibilities of such tests given by the KASCADE-Grande experimental setup are discussed and an example of the obtained muon pseudorapidity spectrum is shown. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

KASCADE-Grande is an extensive air shower experiment at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany. Main parts of the experiment are the Grande array spread over an area of , the original KASCADE array covering with unshielded and shielded detectors, and additional muon tracking devices. This multi-detector system allows to investigate the energy spectrum, composition, and anisotropies of cosmic rays in the energy range up to 1 EeV. An overview on the performance of the apparatus and first results will be given. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

KASCADE-Grande is an extensive air-shower experiment located at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany. Main parts of the experiment are the Grande array spread over an area of , the original KASCADE array covering with unshielded and shielded detectors, and additional muon tracking devices. This multi-detector system allows to investigate the energy spectrum, composition, and anisotropies of cosmic rays in the energy range up to 1 EeV. LOPES is co-located at the same site to measure radio pulses from extensive air showers in coincidence with KASCADE-Grande. It consists of 30 digital antennas operated in different geometrical configurations. Read out is performed at high bandwidths and rate data processing with the aim to calibrate the emitted signal in the primary energy range of by making use of reconstructed air-shower observables of KASCADE-Grande. An overview on the performance of both experiments will be given and recent analysis results be reported. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]