beta(+)/EC-decay study of Ir-176 neutron-deficient isotope

The beta(+)/EC decay of doubly odd Ir-176 has been investigated using Nd-146(Cl-35, 5n gamma)Ir-176 heavy ion fusion evaporation reaction at 210MeV bombarding energy. With the aid of a helium-jet recoil fast tape transport system, the reaction products were transported to a low-background location for measurements. Based on the data analysis, the previously published gamma rays in Ir-176 decay were proved, moreover, 3 new levels and 10 new gamma rays were assigned to Ir-176 decay. The new level scheme of Os-176 with low excitation energy has been established. The time spectra of typical gamma rays clearly indicate a long-lived low-spin isomer in Ir-176 nuclide.

Identification of a quasiparticle band in very neutron-rich Zr-104

The high spin levels of a very neutron-rich Zr-104 nucleus have been reinvestigated by measuring the prompt. rays in the spontaneous fission of Cf-252. The ground-state band has been confirmed. A new sideband has been identified with a band-head energy at 1928.7 keV. The projected shell model is employed to investigate the band structure of Zr-104. The results of calculated levels are in good agreement with the experimental data, and suggest that the new band in Zr-104 may be based on the neutron nu 5/2(-)[532] circle times nu 3/2(+)[411] configuration.

Molybdenum L-shell X-ray production by 350-600 keV Xeq+ (q=25-30) ions

Molybdenum L-shell X-rays were produced by Xeq+ (q = 25-30) bombardment at low energies from 2.65 to 4.55 keV/amu (350-600 keV). We observed a kinetic energy threshold of Mo L-shell ionization down to 2.65-3.03 keV/amu (350-400 keV). The charge state effect of the incident ions was not observed which shows that the ions were neutralized, reaching an equilibrium charge state and losing their initial charge state memory before production of L-shell vacancies resulted in X-ray production. The experimental ionization cross sections were compared with those from Binary Encounter Approximation theory. Taking into account projectile deflection in the target nuclear Coulomb field, the ionization cross section of Mo L-shell near the kinetic energy threshold was well described. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Measurement of the inelastic branch of the stellar O-14(alpha,p)F-17 reaction occurring in the explosive burning in Novae and X-ray busters

The inelastic component of the key astrophysical resonance (1(-), E-x=6.15 MeV) in the O-14(alpha,p)F-17 reaction has been studied by using the resonant scattering of F-17+p. The experiment was done at REX-ISOLDE CERN with the Miniball setup. The thick target method in inverse kinematics was utilized in the present experiment where a 44.2 MeV F-17 beam bombarded a similar to 40 mu m thick (CH2)(n) target. The inelastic scattering protons in coincidence with the de-excited 495 keV gamma rays have been clearly seen and they are from the inelastic branch to the first excited state in F-17 following decay of the 1(-) resonance in Ne-18. Some preliminary results are reported.

Design studies on the 4 pi gamma-ray calorimeter for the ETF experiment at HIRFL-CSR

A high detection efficiency calorimeter which is used to detect gamma-rays with energies from 1 MeV up to 10 MeV as well as light charged particles has been proposed. Design of the geometry, results of the crystal tests and Monte Carlo simulations are presented in this paper. The simulation results confirm that the calorimeter can obtain high detection efficiency and good energy resolution with the current designed geometry. And the calorimeter is competent for the future External Target Facility (ETIF) experiments.

A TOF-PET prototype with position sensitive PMT readout

A prototype of time-of-flight positron emission computed tomography (TOF-PET) has been developed for acquiring the coincident detection of 511 keV gamma-rays produced from positron annihilation. It consists of two 80.5 mmx80.5 mm LYSO scintillator arrays (composed of 35 x35 pixel finger crystals) with the position sensitive photomultiplier tubes R2487 as the readout. Each array is composed of 2 mm x2 mm x 15 mm finger crystals and the average pixel pitch is 2.30 mm. The measured results indicate that the TOF information has the potential to significantly enhance the image quality by improving the noise variance in the image reconstruction. The best spatial resolution (FWHM) of the prototype for the pairs of 511 keV gamma-rays is 1.98 mm and 2.16 mm in the x and y directions, respectively, which are smaller than the average pixel pitch of 2.30 mm.

Structure evolution along the yrast-line in Pd-101

High-spin states in Pd-101 have been investigated experimentally via the Ge-76(Si-28, 3n gamma)Pd-101 reaction. The previously known bands based on the d(5/2) and h(11/2) neutron orbitals have been extended to higher-spin states, and two new structures have been observed. Spin and parity were assigned to the levels on the basis of the experimental results of the angular distribution of gamma rays deexciting the oriented states. For the ground-state band, the E-GOS (E-Gamma Over Spin) curve strongly suggests a structure transition from vibration to rotation while increasing spin.

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.

Investigation of add-back effects in a segmented Clover detector

The resolution and the summing characteristics of an EXOGAM segmented Clover germanium detector has been studied for use it in gamma spectroscopic experiments. The measurements have been performed with standard radioactive sources of Eu-152, Ba-133 and beta-delayed gamma-rays from Ir-176 decay. The data analytic results, realized by software, are presented in this paper.

Effect of gamma-ray radiation on physiological, morphological characters and chromosome aberrations of minitubers in Solanum tuberosum L.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of gamma-ray radiation on the physiological, morphological characters and chromosome aberrations of minitubers. Materials and methods: Minitubers of one potato cultivar, 'Shepody', were irradiated with 8 doses of gamma-rays (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 Gy [Gray]) to investigate the effects of radiation on emergence ability, plant height and root length, morphological variations, chromosome aberrations, M-1 (first generation mutants) tuber number and size of minituber plants. Results: Compared with the non-irradiated controls, the whole period of emergence was prolonged by 10-15 days for minitubers treated with gamma-ray radiation, but low doses of radiation (10, 20 and 30 Gy) promoted the emergence percentage of minitubers. With an increase in radiation dose, the emergence percentage, plant height and root length of minituber plants were significantly inhibited at 40 and 50 Gy. No emergence occurred at 60 Gy and higher doses. After radiation, a series of morphological variations and chromosome aberrations appeared in minituber plants. Radiation with 20 Gy promoted tuber formation, and the average number and diameter of M-1 tubers per plant were significantly increased over the control by 71% and 34%, respectively. Conclusion: Low doses of radiation (10-30 Gy) might be used as a valuable parameter to study the improvement of minitubers by gamma-ray radiation treatment.

Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Three-Dimensional Human Vessel Models: Differential Effects According to Radiation Quality and Cellular Development

Little is known about the effects of space radiation on the human body. There are a number of potential chronic and acute effects, and one major target for noncarcinogenic effects is the human vasculature. Cellular stress, inflammatory response, and other radiation effects on endothelial cells may affect vascular function. This study was aimed at understanding the effects of space ionizing radiation on the formation and maintenance of capillary-like blood vessels. We used a 3D human vessel model created with human endothelial cells in a gel matrix to assess the effects of low-LET protons and high-LET iron ions. Iron ions were more damaging and caused significant reduction in the length of intact vessels in both developing and mature vessels at a dose of 80 cGy. Protons had no effect on mature vessels up to a dose of 3.2 Gy but did inhibit vessel formation at 80 cGy. Comparison with gamma radiation showed that photons had even less effect, although, as with protons, developing vessels were more sensitive. Apoptosis assays showed that inhibition of vessel development or deterioration of mature vessels was not due to cell death by apoptosis even in the case of iron ions. These are the first data to show the effects of radiation with varying linear energy transfer on a human vessel model. (C) 2011 In Radiation Research Society

Loss of p15/Ink4b accompanies tumorigenesis triggered by complex DNA double-strand breaks

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are the most deleterious lesion inflicted by ionizing radiation. Although DSBs are potentially carcinogenic, it is not clear whether complex DSBs that are refractory to repair are more potently tumorigenic compared with simple breaks that can be rapidly repaired, correctly or incorrectly, by mammalian cells. We previously demonstrated that complex DSBs induced by high-linear energy transfer (LET) Fe ions are repaired slowly and incompletely, whereas those induced by low-LET gamma rays are repaired efficiently by mammalian cells. To determine whether Fe-induced DSBs are more potently tumorigenic than gamma ray-induced breaks, we irradiated 'sensitized' murine astrocytes that were deficient in Ink4a and Arf tumor suppressors and injected the surviving cells subcutaneously into nude mice. Using this model system, we find that Fe ions are potently tumorigenic, generating tumors with significantly higher frequency and shorter latency compared with tumors generated by gamma rays. Tumor formation by Fe-irradiated cells is accompanied by rampant genomic instability and multiple genomic changes, the most interesting of which is loss of the p15/Ink4b tumor suppressor due to deletion of a chromosomal region harboring the CDKN2A and CDKN2B loci. The additional loss of p15/Ink4b in tumors derived from cells that are already deficient in p16/Ink4a bolsters the hypothesis that p15 plays an important role in tumor suppression, especially in the absence of p16. Indeed, we find that reexpression of p15 in tumor-derived cells significantly attenuates the tumorigenic potential of these cells, indicating that p15 loss may be a critical event in tumorigenesis triggered by complex DSBs.

γ射线诱导的细胞周期阻滞和适应性反应研究

高剂量电离辐射对健康造成危害，这一点是比较肯定的，而目前人们更关心的是低剂量辐射的健康风险问题。由于缺乏直接的研究数据，低剂量辐射的效应最初是根据线性无闰（LNT）假说推测出来的，推测结果认为任何程度的辐射，无论剂量有多小，对健康都是有害的。但是，LNT假说从提出之日起就受到质疑。近20年的大量实验研究揭示，低剂量辐射可诱导机体和细胞的兴奋效应，低剂量辐射使细胞恶性转化或人群癌症发生率下降，低剂量辐射预先作用减轻继后高剂量照射所造成的有害效应。目前，人们已尝试性地将低剂量辐射效应应用于肿瘤的治疗。本工作以60C0Y射线（0．3oG到min）对肿瘤细胞进行不同的照射：A，假照射，B，scGy照射，c，scGy照射后4h或8h再以3Gy照射，D，3Gy照射。照射后测定细胞周期和克隆存活率。分析了scGyY射线对不同肿瘤细胞细胞周期的影响，scGyY射线诱导的克隆存活适应性反应与细胞周期阻滞适应性反应之间的相关性。最后讨论了本研究结果在肿瘤放射治疗中的潜在应用。本工作结果总结如下：1，scGy丫射线引起hepGZ、HeLa、sMMc-7721和Ho-8910细胞在GZ脑期发生短暂延迟（大致到辐射后4小时），说明细胞周期检查点对损伤非常敏感，很低剂量的辐射即可使之激活。在经过短暂的延迟之后，hePGZ细胞的生长明显加快，照射后24h和48h的相对细胞数分别是对照的124％和216％。结果表明scGy7射线能促进hePGZ细胞的生长。2．3Gyy射线照射后，hepGZ、sMMc-7721和Ho-8910细胞的GZ／M期细胞明显累积，并在照射后12h达到最大值，S期细胞在辐射后6h有一显著累积，此后下降至对照水平。3Gγ照射后的18h内，HeL。细胞的GZ／M期细胞和S期细胞均明显累积。结果表明，3Gyγ射线照射后，hePGZ、sMMc-7721和HO-8910细胞发生GZ／M阻滞，S期短暂延迟，而HeLa细胞的GZ／M期和S期均发生较长时间的延迟，说明HeLa细胞的辐射敏感性和其他三种细胞不一样。这一结果对肿瘤的放射治疗有参考价值。3．在3GyY射线照射之前4h预先照射scGy可使hePGZ和L02细胞在GZ／M期进一步累积，而对HeLa细胞的周期分布没有明显影响，这一结果也说明HeLa细胞的辐射敏感性与其他细胞有差异。4．在3Gyγ射线照射之前8h预先照射scGy可以促进hePGZ细胞通过GZ／M期阻滞。无论两次辐射之间的间隔为4h还是8h，预照射均可诱导hePGZ细胞克降存活适应性反应。这些结果表明，克隆存活适应性反应和细胞周期阻滞适应性反应不是同步出现的，说明克隆存活适应性反应的产生可能并不一定需要细胞从阻滞状态中的恢复，因此，推测这两个方面的适应性反应有一定联系但没有必然相关性。

Image reconstruction by an alternating minimisation

This paper focuses on the problem of incomplete data in the applications of the circular cone-beam computed tomography. This problem is frequently encountered in medical imaging sciences and some other industrial imaging systems. For example, it is crucial when the high density region of objects can only be penetrated by X-rays in a limited angular range. As the projection data are only available in an angular range, the above mentioned incomplete data problem can be attributed to the limited angle problem, which is an ill-posed inverse problem. This paper reports a modified total variation minimisation method to reduce the data insufficiency in tomographic imaging. This proposed method is robust and efficient in the task of reconstruction by showing the convergence of the alternating minimisation method. The results demonstrate that this new reconstruction method brings reasonable performance. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparative study of Ga2O3 : Dy3+ phosphors prepared by three methods

Trivalent dysprosium (Dy3+)-activated beta-gallium oxide (beta-Ga2O3) phosphors were synthesized by solid-state (SS), coprecipitation (CP), and citrate gel (CG) methods, respectively. The resulting beta-Ga2O3:Dy3+ phosphors were well characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and by photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence spectra. The phosphors prepared by different methods show different luminescence properties under the excitation of UV and low-voltage cathode rays. There exists an energy transfer from the beta-Ga2O3 host lattices to Dy3+, and the energy transfer efficiency was higher in the CG-derived phosphors than those of the SS- and CP-derived phosphors. Factors influencing the intensity of luminescence and the energy transfer efficiency from beta-Ga2O3 host to Dy3+ in beta-Ga2O3:Dy3+ phosphors were investigated in detail. It is shown that the CG method is the most respected process for the preparation of beta-Ga2O3:Dy3+ phosphors.