Properties of the beta-delayed proton decay of Ho-146

The proton-rich isotope Ho-148 was produced via the fusion-evaporation reaction Mo-92 (Ni-58, 3p1n). The beta-delayed proton decay of Ho-146 was studied by proton-gamma coincidence measurements using a He-jet tape transport system. The gamma-transitions in Tb-145 following the proton emissions were observed, and the beta-delayed proton branching ratios to the final states in the grand-daughter nucleus Tb-145 were determined. According to the relative branching ratios, the ground-state spin of Ho-146 has been proposed and the possible configuration discussed.

Effect of rare earth element on the metabolism in rats by high resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra can be used for the rapid multicomponent analysis in small amounts of biological fluids. In this paper, the effect of La (NO3)(3) on the rats' metabolism in urine was investigated by H-1 NMR analysis. The experimental groups of wistar rats were injected intraperitoneally with La(NO3)(3) at doses of 0.2, 2.0, 10 and 20mg/kg body weight. The remarkable variation of low molecular weight metabolites in urine has been identified by H-1 NMR spectra, in which dimethylamine, N, N-dimethylglycine, urea, alpha -ketoglutarate, trimethylamine N-oxide, succinate, citrate and amino acids have been suggested as NMR markers for renal damage and ethanol, lactate, taurine as the markers for liver damage. This work may assess its possible use in the early detection of biochemical changes associated with Rare Earth induced kidney and liver dysfunction.

A Nanomechanical Device Based on Light-Driven Proton Pumps

In this paper, a hybrid device based on a microcantilever interfaced with bacteriorhodopsin (bR) is constructed. The microcantilever, on which the highly oriented bR film is self-assembled, undergoes controllable and reversible bending when the light-driven proton pump protein, bR, on the microcantilever surface is activated by visible light. Several control experiments are carried out to preclude the influence of heat and photothermal effects. It is shown that the nanomechanical motion is induced by the resulting gradient of protons, which are transported from the KCl solution on the cytoplasmic side of the bR film towards the extracellular side of the bR film. Along with a simple physical interpretation, the microfabricated cantilever interfaced with the organized molecular film of bR can simulate the natural machinery in converting solar energy to mechanical energy.