Transport parameters in neutron stars from in-medium N N cross sections

We present a numerical study of shear viscosity and thermal conductivity of symmetric nuclear matter, pure neutron matter, and beta-stable nuclear matter, in the framework of the Brueckner theory. The calculation of in-medium cross sections and nucleon effective masses is performed with a consistent two- and three-body interaction. The investigation covers a wide baryon density range as needed in the applications to neutron stars. The results for the transport coefficients in beta-stable nuclear matter are used to make preliminary predictions on the damping time scales of nonradial modes in neutron stars.

Constraints on the symmetry energy and neutron skins from pygmy resonances in Ni-68 and Sn-132

Correlations between the behavior of the nuclear symmetry energy, the neutron skins, and the percentage of energy-weighted sum rule (EWSR) exhausted by the pygmy dipole resonance (PDR) in Ni-68 and Sn-132 are investigated by using different random phase approximation (RPA) models for the dipole response, based on a representative set of Skyrme effective forces plus meson-exchange effective Lagrangians. A comparison with the experimental data has allowed us to constrain the value of the derivative of the symmetry energy at saturation. The neutron skin radius is deduced under this constraint.

Characteristics of the sampling paddle modules of neutron wall from the cosmic ray test

In the construction of a large area neutron detector (neutron wall) that is used to detect neutrons at GeV energies, the performances of all the sampling paddle modules prepared for the neutron wall are investigated with a specially designed test bench. Tested by cosmic rays, an average intrinsic time resolution of 222.5 ps is achieved at the center of the modules. The light attenuation length and the effective speed of the light in the module are also investigated.

Two-quasiparticle K-isomeric states in strongly deformed neutron-rich Nd and Sm isotopes: a projected shell-model analysis

Motivated by recent spectroscopy data from fission experiments, we apply the projected shell model to study systematically the structure of strongly deformed, neutron-rich, even-even Nd and Sm isotopes with neutron number from 94 to 100. We perform calculations for rotational bands up to spin I = 20 and analyze the band structure of low-lying states with quasiparticle excitations, with emphasis given to rotational bands based on various negative-parity two-quasiparticle (2-qp) isomers. Experimentally known isomers in these isotopes are described well. The calculations further predict proton 2-qp bands based on a 5(-) and a 7(-) isomer and neutron 2-qp bands based on a 4(-) and an 8(-) isomer. The properties for the yrast line are discussed, and quantities to test the predictions are suggested for future experiment.

Nucleon Superfluidity in Asymmetric Nuclear Matter and Neutron Star Matter

We have investigate the nucleon superfluidity in asymmetric nuclear matter and neutron star matter by using the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approach and the BCS theory. We have predicted the isospin-asymmetry dependence of the nucleon superfluidity in asymmetric nuclear matter and discussed particularly the effect of microscopic three-body forces. It has been shown that the three-body force leads to a strong suppression of the proton S-1(0) superfluidity in beta -stable neutron star matter. Whereas the microscopic three-body force is found to enhance remarkably the (PF2)-P-3 neutron superfluidity in neutron star matter and neutron stars.

The Compact Pulsed Hadron Source: A Design Perspective

During the past. decades, large-scale national neutron sources have been developed in Asia, Europe, and North America. Complementing such efforts, compact hadron beam complexes and neutron sources intended to serve primarily universities and industrial institutes have been proposed, and some have recently been established. Responding to the demand in China for pulsed neutron/proton-beam platforms that are dedicated to fundamental and applied research for users in multiple disciplines from materials characterization to hadron therapy and radiography to accelerator-driven sub-critical reactor systems (ADS) for nuclear waste transmutation, we have initiated the construction of a compact, yet expandable, accelerator complex-the Compact Pulsed Hadron Source (CPHS). It consists of an accelerator front-end (a high-intensity ion source, a 3-MeV radio-frequency quadrupole linac (RFQ), and a 13-MeV drift-tube linac (DTL)), a neutron target station (a beryllium target with solid methane and room-temperature water moderators/reflector), and experimental stations for neutron imaging/radiography, small-angle scattering, and proton irradiation. In the future, the CPHS may also serve as an injector to a ring for proton therapy and radiography or as the front end to an ADS test facility. In this paper, we describe the design of the CPHS technical systems and its intended operation.

CONSISTENT THREE-BODY FORCE WITH BONN B POTENTIAL AND NEUTRON STAR STRUCTURE

Microscopic three-nucleon force consistent with the Bonn B two-nucleon potential is constructed, which includes Delta(1232), Roper, and nucleon-antinucleon excitation contributions. Recent results for the choice of the meson parameters are discussed. The forces are used in Brueckner calculations and the saturation properties of nuclear matter are determined. At the high densities,the nuclear equation of state and the symmetry energy are calculated. The corresponding neutron star mass-radius relations are presented.

Effects of pH on the Interactions and Conformation of Bovine Serum Albumin: Comparison between Chemical Force Microscopy and Small-Angle Neutron Scattering

The conformation of bovine serum albumin (BSA), as well as its interactions with negatively charged mica surfaces in saline solutions of different pH values, have been studied by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and chemical force microscopy (CFM), respectively. A new approach to extract the contribution of elementary interactions from the statistically averaged force-extension curves through self-consistent fitting was proposed and used to understand the effects of pH on the interactions and conformation of BSA in saline solutions. When pH increases, the SANS results reveal that the sizes of BSA molecules increase slightly, while the statistical analysis of the CFM results shows that the averaged pull-off force for the elongation monotonously decreases. The decrease of pull-off force with the increase of pH results from the decrease in the strength of hydrogen bonding and the number of interaction pairs, as well as the slight increase of the strength of van der Waals interaction. When pH approaches the isoelectric point (pI) of BSA, results from both SANS and CFM suggest a loss of long-range interactions in BSA molecules. Our results also suggest that the force-extension curve is mainly contributed by the van der Waals interaction. The combination of SANS and CFM provides new insight to understand the interactions and conformation of BSA molecules

A electrochemiluminescence aptasensor for detection of thrombin incorporating the capture aptamer labeled with gold nanoparticles immobilized onto the thio-silanized ITO electrode

A novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL) aptasensor was proposed for sensitive and cost-effective detection of the target thrombin adopted an aptamer-based sandwich format. To detect thrombin, capture aptamers; labeled with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were first immobilized onto the thio-silanized ITO electrode surface through strong Au-S bonds. After catching the target thrombin, signal aptamers; tagged with ECL labels were attached to the assembled electrode surface. As a result, an AuNPs-capture-aptamer/thrombin/ECL-tagged signal-aptamer sandwich type was formed.

PLLA-PCys co-electrospun fibers for capture and elution of glutathione S-transferase

The copolymer poly(L-lactic acid)-b-poly(L-cysteine) (PLA-b-PCys) was co-electrospun with PLGA into ultrafine fibers. The reduced glutathione (GSH) was conjugated to the fiber surfaces via disulfide bonds. The glutathione S-transferase (GST) was captured onto the GSH fibers via specific substrate-enzyme interaction between the bound GSH and GST. The captured GST was eluted with free GSH aqueous solution and lyophilized to get pure GST powders. The results show that the GSH moieties on the fiber surface retain the bioactivity of the free GSH and thus they can bind specifically with GST and the GST in solution is captured onto the fiber surface. In addition, the bound GSH is not as active as free GSH so that the captured GST can be eluted off from the fiber by free GSH aqueous solution. Based on this principle, GST itself or its fused proteins can be separated and purified very easily. The preliminary purification efficiency is 6.5 mg center dot(g(PCys))(-1). Further improvements are undertaken.

Investigation of sol-gel transition in Pluronic F127/D2O solutions using a combination of small-angle neutron scattering and Monte Carlo simulation

Physical gelation in the concentrated Pluronic F127/D2O solution has been studied by a combination of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and Monte Carlo simulation. A 15% F127/D2O solution exhibits a sol-gel transition at low temperature and a gel-sol transition at the higher temperature, as evidenced by SANS and Monte Carlo simulation studies. Our SANS and simulation results also suggest that the sol-gel transition is dominated by the formation of a percolated polymer network, while the gel-sol transition is determined by the loss of bound solvent. Furthermore, different diffusion behaviors of different bound solvents and free solvent are observed. We expect that this approach can be further extended to study phase behaviors of other systems with similar sol-gel phase diagrams.

A study of resonance electron capture ionization on a quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer

Procedures that allow the realization of resonance electron capture (REC) mode on a commercial triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer, after some simple modifications, are described, REC mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments were performed and spectra for some compounds were recorded. In particular, the charge-remote fragmentation (CRF) spectra of [M - H](-) ions of docosanoic and docosenoic acids under low-energy collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) conditions were obtained, and showed that there were no significant differences for [M - H](-) ions produced at different resonances (i,e. for [M - H](-) ions with different structures). This observation was explained on the basis of results obtained from deuterium-labeled fatty acids, which showed that different CRF ions (but with the same m/z value in the absence of labels) could be produced by different mechanisms, and all of them were obviously realized under CAD conditions that made spectra practically indistinguishable. The other example, which compared the REC-MS/MS spectrum of [M - H](-) ions and EI-MS/MS spectrum of M+. ions of daidzein, demonstrated the potential of the REC-MS/MS technique for more complex structure elucidation. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Review on study of resonance electron capture mass spectrometry

Resonance electron capture mass spectrometry, in which an additional information coordinate, the energy of electron capture, is applied, has a high sensitivity and a high specificity. It is extensively used to study the structure elucidation, the mechanism of ion formation and the detection, identification and quantification of organic substances in mixture.

A STUDY OF CHARGE SEPARATION AND ELECTRON-CAPTURE INDUCED DECOMPOSITION SPECTRA OF PHENYLENEDIAMINE ISOMERS

The structures and decomposition reactions of doubly charged phenylenediamines were studied by means of charge separation (CS) and electron capture induced decomposition (ECID) spectra. The deisomerization of the three isomers is prior to the metastable d