Clustering in stable and unstable nuclei in pp-shell and sdsd-shell regions

According to microscopic calculations with antisymmetrized molecular dynamics, we studied cluster features in stable and unstable nuclei. A variety of structure was found in stable and unstable nuclei in the $p$-shell and $sd$-shell regions. The structure of excited states of $^{12}$Be was investigated, while in $sd$-shell nuclei we focused on molecular states and deformed states. The deformed states in $^{28}$Si and $^{40}$Ca were discussed in connection with the high-lying molecular states. Appealing molecular states in $^{36}$Ar and $^{24}$Mg were suggested. The results signified that both clustering of nucleons and mean-field formation are essential features in $sd$-shell nuclei as well as $p$-shell nuclei.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figs, proceedings of the 8th International conference on Clustering Aspects of Nuclear Structure and Dynamics, Nov. 2003, Nara, Japan, to be published in Nucl.Phys.

Psychosocial predictors and psychological prevention of soccer injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature

Objectives: To examine (a) the relationships between the psychosocial risk factors and injury rates and (b) the effects of psychological-based prevention interventions on the injury risk of soccer players. Design: Scholarly electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Scopus) were searched on 1 January 2017, complemented by manual searches of bibliographies. Setting: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Participants: We identified 13 eligible studies, including a total of 1,149 injured soccer players aged between 14 and 36 years. Main Outcome Measures: Psychosocial risk factors, psychological-based prevention interventions and injury risk in soccer players. Results: Personality traits, such as trait anxiety and perceived mastery climate, along with a history of stressors, like negative-life-event stress or high level of life stress, daily hassle, and previous injury, are the main predictors of injury rates among soccer players. Also, from injury prevention studies, it has been shown that psychological-based interventions reduce injury rates (effect size = 0.96; 95% CI 0.34-1.58; p = 0.002) in senior soccer players. Conclusions: Practitioners need to ensure injured soccer players are psychologically and socially ready to play. They should also employ psychological-based interventions (i.e., mindfulness, imagery, self-talk, stress management, relaxation, goal setting) when designing injury prevention programs

Spectroscopy of 26^{26}F

The structure of the weakly-bound $^{26}_{\;\;9}$F$_{17}$ odd-odd nucleus, produced from $^{27,28}$Na nuclei, has been investigated at GANIL by means of the in-beam $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy technique. A single $\gamma$-line is observed at 657(7) keV in $^{26}_{9}$F which has been ascribed to the decay of the excited J=$2^+$ state to the J=1$^+$ ground state. The possible presence of intruder negative parity states in $^{26}$F is also discussed.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Brain Source Correlates of Speech Perception and Reading Processes in Children With and Without Reading Difficulties

Neural correlates in reading and speech processing have been addressed extensively in the literature. While reading skills and speech perception have been shown to be associated with each other, their relationship remains debatable. In this study, we investigated reading skills, speech perception, reading, and their correlates with brain source activity in auditory and visual modalities. We used high-density event-related potentials (ERPs), fixation-related potentials (FRPs), and the source reconstruction method. The analysis was conducted on 12–13-year-old schoolchildren who had different reading levels. Brain ERP source indices were computed from frequently repeated Finnish speech stimuli presented in an auditory oddball paradigm. Brain FRP source indices were also computed for words within sentences presented in a reading task. The results showed significant correlations between speech ERP sources and reading scores at the P100 (P1) time range in the left hemisphere and the N250 time range in both hemispheres, and a weaker correlation for visual word processing N170 FRP source(s) in the posterior occipital areas, in the vicinity of the visual word form areas (VWFA). Furthermore, significant brain-to-brain correlations were found between the two modalities, where the speech brain sources of the P1 and N250 responses correlated with the reading N170 response. The results suggest that speech processes are linked to reading fluency and that brain activations to speech are linked to visual brain processes of reading. These results indicate that a relationship between language and reading systems is present even after several years of exposure to print

Clusters in Light Nuclei

A great deal of research work has been undertaken in the alpha-clustering study since the pioneering discovery, half a century ago, of 12C+12C molecular resonances. Our knowledge of the field of the physics of nuclear molecules has increased considerably and nuclear clustering remains one of the most fruitful domains of nuclear physics, facing some of the greatest challenges and opportunities in the years ahead. In this work, the occurence of "exotic" shapes in light N=Z alpha-like nuclei is investigated. Various approaches of superdeformed and hyperdeformed bands associated with quasimolecular resonant structures are presented. Results on clustering aspects are also discussed for light neutron-rich Oxygen isotopes.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures. Invited Talk presented by C. Beck at the Zakopane Conference on Nuclear Physics "Extremes of the Nuclear Landscape" XLV in the series of Zakopane Schools of Physics - International Symposium - Zakopane, Poland, August 30 - September 5, 2010.To be publihed in Acta Physica Polonica B42 no 3, March 201

High-spin structures of five N=82 isotones: 136Xe, 137Cs, 138Ba, 139La, and 140Ce

Five N=82 isotones have been produced in two fusion-fission reactions and their gamma-rays studied with the Euroball array. The high-spin states of 139La have been identified for the first time, while the high-spin yrast and near-to-yrast structures of the four others have been greatly extended. From angular correlation analysis,spin values have been assigned to some states of 136Xe and 137Cs. Several cascades involving gamma-rays of 139La have been found to be delayed, they deexcite an isomeric state with T1/2= 315(35) ns located at 1800-keV excitation energy. The excited states of these five N=82 isotones are expected to be due to various proton excitations involving the three high-j subshells located above the Z=50 shell closure. This is confirmed by the results of shell-model calculations performed in this work. In addition, high-spin states corresponding to the excitation of the neutron core have been unambiguously identified in 136Xe, 137Cs, and 138Ba.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figures, 10 tables, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Simultaneous Screening of Multiple Mutations by Invader Assay Improves Molecular Diagnosis of Hereditary Hearing Loss: A Multicenter Study

Although etiological studies have shown genetic disorders to be a common cause of congenital/early-onset sensorineural hearing loss, there have been no detailed multicenter studies based on genetic testing. In the present report, 264 Japanese patients with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss from 33 ENT departments nationwide participated. For these patients, we first applied the Invader assay for screening 47 known mutations of 13 known deafness genes, followed by direct sequencing as necessary. A total of 78 (29.5%) subjects had at least one deafness gene mutation. Mutations were more frequently found in the patients with congenital or early-onset hearing loss, i.e., in those with an awareness age of 0–6 years, mutations were significantly higher (41.8%) than in patients with an older age of awareness (16.0%). Among the 13 genes, mutations in GJB2 and SLC26A4 were mainly found in congenital or early-onset patients, in contrast with mitochondrial mutations (12S rRNA m.1555A>G, tRNA(Leu(UUR)) m.3243A>G), which were predominantly found in older-onset patients. The present method of simultaneous screening of multiple deafness mutations by Invader assay followed by direct sequencing will enable us to detect deafness mutations in an efficient and practical manner for clinical use

UCx_x target design for the SPIRAL 2 project and the ALTO project

ACC NESTERInternational audienceTwo ways of production of radioactive beams using uranium carbide targets are taken into consideration: fission induced by fast neutrons and by bremsstrahlung radiation. For the SPIRAL 2 project, the fission of 238U in uranium carbide target will be induced by a neutron flow created by bombarding a carbon converter with a 40 MeV high intensity deuteron beam. Calculations and design of the target in order to reach 1013 fissions/s with good release time have been done. The second way is the photofission using an electron beam. In 2005 the ALTO project (Accélérateur Linéaire Auprès du Tandem d'Orsay) will give a 50 MeV/10$\mu$A electron beam. This facility will allow more than 1011 fissions/s. In this case, the electron beam hits the target without converter. Calculations realised in order to estimate the production are used to choose the best target shape. For the two cases some R & D on targets to improve release is described

Excitation energies of superdeformed states in 196Pb: towards a systematic study of the second well in Pb isotopes

The excitation energy of the lowest-energy superdeformed band in 196Pb is established using the techniques of time-correlated γ-ray spectroscopy. Together with previous measurements on 192Pb and 194Pb, this result allows superdeformed excitation energies, binding energies, and two-proton and two-neutron separation energies to be studied systematically, providing stringent tests for current nuclear models. The results are examined for evidence of a “superdeformed shell gap.