First laser ions at the CERN-MEDICIS facility

The CERN-MEDICIS facility aims to produce emerging medical radionuclides for the theranostics approach in nuclear medicine with mass separation of ion beams. To enhance the radioisotope yield and purity of collected samples, the resonance ionization laser ion source MELISSA was constructed, and provided the first laser ions at the facility in 2019. Several operational tests were accomplished to investigate its performance in preparation for the upcoming production of terbium radioisotopes, which are of particular interest for medical applications. © 2020, The Author(s).KU LeuvenHorizon 2020: 642889 MEDICIS-PROMED05P12UMCIA, 05P15UMCIAOpen Access funding provided by Projekt DEAL. We would like to acknowledge the help and assistance from the whole MEDICIS collaboration; from CERN-ISOLDE Technical and Physical groups. This research project has been supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network Fellowship of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Programme under contract number 642889 MEDICIS-PROMED; by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under the consecutive projects 05P12UMCIA and 05P15UMCIA; by the Research Foundation Flanders FWO (Belgium) and by a KU Leuven START grant

Asymmetric leaves1 mediates leaf patterning and stem cell function in Arabidopsis

Meristem function in plants requires both the maintenance of stem cells and the specification of founder cells from which lateral organs arise. Lateral organs are patterned along proximodistal, dorsoventral and mediolateral axes (1,2). Here we show that the Arabidopsis mutant asymmetric leaves1 (as1) disrupts this process. AS1 encodes a myb domain protein, closely related to PHANTASTICA in Antirrhinum and ROUGH SHEATH2 in maize, both of which negatively regulate knotted-class homeobox genes. AS1 negatively regulates the homeobox genes KNAT1 and KNAT2 and is, in turn, negatively regulated by the meristematic homeobox gene SHOOT MERISTEMLESS. This genetic pathway defines a mechanism for differentiating between stem cells and organ founder cells within the shoot apical meristem and demonstrates that genes expressed in organ primordia interact with meristematic genes to regulate shoot morphogenesi

Laser-assisted nuclear decay spectroscopy of 176,177,179Au

A study of the laser-ionized and mass-separated neutron-deficient isotopes Au-176,Au-177,Au-179 was performed using the Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source and the Windmill detection setup at ISOLDE, CERN. New and improved data on complex fine-structure alpha decays of the three isotopes were deduced, providing insight into the low-lying levels in the daughter nuclei Ir-172,Ir-173,Ir-175. New information on the properties of beta-decay daughter products Pt-177,Pt-179 was also obtained. From the first in-source laser spectroscopy measurements of the hyperfine structure in the atomic 267.6-nm transition of Au-176, the nuclear magnetic moments for both high- and low-spin alpha-decaying states were deduced. Together with the values determined from the additivity relations, they were used to propose the most probable spins and configurations for both states. The a-decay branching ratios were determined as b(alpha)(Au-176(1s)) = 58(5)% and b(alpha)(Au-176(hs)) = 29 (5)%

Response of the oxygen pulse during exercise in children with atrial repair for transposition of the great arteries

Roselien Buys,1,2,* Kimberly Dockx,1,* Marc Gewillig,3 Tony Reybrouck1,21Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, 2Department of Cardiovascular Rehabilitation, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 3Department of Pediatric Cardiology, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium*These authors contributed equally to this paperBackground: The oxygen pulse equals stroke volume times arterial–venous oxygen difference and is calculated by dividing oxygen uptake (VO2) by heart rate (HR). In children with a Senning repair for the transposition of the great arteries (TGA), the response of both HR and VO2 to exercise is impaired. Our aim was to assess the oxygen pulse response during exercise in patients who underwent a Senning operation, comparing it with healthy controls.Methods: Twenty-one children with a Senning repair (mean age 12.5 ± 1.7 years) and a control group of 31 healthy children (mean age 13.2 ± 2.0 years) performed a graded maximal exercise test on a treadmill, during which HR and VO2 were measured. Oxygen pulse was calculated by dividing VO2 by HR. Right ventricular function was quantitatively assessed by cardiac ultrasound.Results: Senning patients had a lower peak oxygen pulse than the control (P = 0.0024) (8.45 ± 1.90 mL • beats-1 versus 11.7 ± 3.93 mL • beats-1), as with the peak VO2 (P < 0.001) (35.8 ± 5.67 mL • min-1 • kg-1 versus 46.6 ± 8.02 mL • min-1 • kg-1) and peak HR (171 ± 14 beats • min-1 versus 188 ± 11 beats • min-1). During submaximal exercise, oxygen pulse and VO2 were also significantly lower in Senning patients when compared to the control group (P = 0.027). In seven Senning patients (33%), the oxygen pulse did not increase any further after the first exercise levels. These patients had lower right ventricular function compared to the control group (P = 0.04).Conclusion: Children with a Senning repair for TGA have a reduced peak VO2, peak HR, and peak oxygen pulse. Their oxygen pulse starts off at a lower level, reaches its plateau earlier, and is related to right ventricular function. This variable can be considered a complementary parameter to assess cardiovascular exercise performance.Keywords: transposition of the great arteries, Senning repair, oxygen pulse, cardiopulmonary exercise testin