Connection of four-dimensional Langevin model and Hauser-Feshbach theory to describe statistical decay of fission fragments

We developed a method superposing two different fission modes calculated in a four-dimensional Langevin model to obtain more accurate fission fragment yield and total kinetic energy (TKE). The two fission modes correspond to the standard I and standard II modes reported by Brosa et al., and parameters in the Langevin model and the superposing ratio were determined to reproduce the fission fragment yield of $^{240}$Pu of spontaneous fission. We also investigated the fission fragment yields and the TKEs of other Pu isotopes by using the same Langevin parameters and different superposing ratios, such as spontaneous fission of $^{238,242}$Pu and neutron-induced fission of $^{239}$Pu. The prompt fission observables, such as the neutron multiplicity, the prompt fission neutron spectrum, and the independent fission product yield were calculated in the Hauser-Feshbach statistical decay model implemented in a nuclear reaction code TALYS with $^{239}$Pu(n,f) in the incident energies ranging from thermal energy up to 5 MeV. The calculated fission observables qualitatively reproduce several known trends while calculated results have quantitative discrepancies between reported data. Although more improvements are needed for the most important nuclides, it turned out that our approach has the capability to provide prompt fission observables for difficult-to-measure nuclides.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, Under review in Journal of Nuclear Science and Technolog

Heterogeneous Nucleation of Protein Crystals on Fluorinated Layered Silicate

Here, we describe an improved system for protein crystallization based on heterogeneous nucleation using fluorinated layered silicate. In addition, we also investigated the mechanism of nucleation on the silicate surface. Crystallization of lysozyme using silicates with different chemical compositions indicated that fluorosilicates promoted nucleation whereas the silicates without fluorine did not. The use of synthesized saponites for lysozyme crystallization confirmed that the substitution of hydroxyl groups contained in the lamellae structure for fluorine atoms is responsible for the nucleation-inducing property of the nucleant. Crystallization of twelve proteins with a wide range of pI values revealed that the nucleation promoting effect of the saponites tended to increase with increased substitution rate. Furthermore, the saponite with the highest fluorine content promoted nucleation in all the test proteins regardless of their overall net charge. Adsorption experiments of proteins on the saponites confirmed that the density of adsorbed molecules increased according to the substitution rate, thereby explaining the heterogeneous nucleation on the silicate surface

A Genome-Wide Association Study Identified AFF1 as a Susceptibility Locus for Systemic Lupus Eyrthematosus in Japanese

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that causes multiple organ damage. Although recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have contributed to discovery of SLE susceptibility genes, few studies has been performed in Asian populations. Here, we report a GWAS for SLE examining 891 SLE cases and 3,384 controls and multi-stage replication studies examining 1,387 SLE cases and 28,564 controls in Japanese subjects. Considering that expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) have been implicated in genetic risks for autoimmune diseases, we integrated an eQTL study into the results of the GWAS. We observed enrichments of cis-eQTL positive loci among the known SLE susceptibility loci (30.8%) compared to the genome-wide SNPs (6.9%). In addition, we identified a novel association of a variant in the AF4/FMR2 family, member 1 (AFF1) gene at 4q21 with SLE susceptibility (rs340630; P = 8.3×10−9, odds ratio = 1.21). The risk A allele of rs340630 demonstrated a cis-eQTL effect on the AFF1 transcript with enhanced expression levels (P<0.05). As AFF1 transcripts were prominently expressed in CD4+ and CD19+ peripheral blood lymphocytes, up-regulation of AFF1 may cause the abnormality in these lymphocytes, leading to disease onset

TALYS calculations of prompt fission observables and independent fission product yields for the neutron-induced fission of 235^{235}U

International audienceThe TALYS nuclear reaction code’s Hauser-Feshbach statistical decay model has been adapted in order to calculate prompt fission neutron and $\gamma$-ray observables by iterating over deexciting fission fragments. Several fission fragment generators such as GEF, HF$^{3}$D, and SPY were employed to provide TALYS with databases. These databases contain standardized tables with fission fragment yields, mean excitation energies and their widths, and average total kinetic energy, as a function of charge and mass number of primary fission fragments. The resulting calculations, including prompt particle multiplicities, spectra, average energies, and independent fission product yields, were compared with experimental and evaluated data. This work first outlines the new methodology implemented in TALYS and examines the effects of three important parameters on the final evaporation data. Furthermore, the neutron-induced fission of $^{235}$U is investigated in detail as a function of incident energy. The results from TALYS, with input from GEF and HF$^{3}$D, were compared with available experimental data and the results of the stand-alone GEF code. The proposed methodology contributes to an improved capability to model the fission process

Prompt-fission observable and fission yield calculations for actinides by TALYS

International audienceThe nuclear reaction code TALYS adopts the Hauser-Feshbach statistical decay theory, to de-excite fission fragments. This involves for instance the evaporation of prompt fission neutrons and γ-rays. TALYS incorporates databases of primary fission fragment distribution which consists of primary fission fragment yield and data for excitation energy distribution of fission fragments. We conducted a sensitivity study on three parameters in TALYS and fitted them in order to reproduce experimental and evaluated data, in thermal neutron-induced fission of 235U. Moreover, we demonstrate a large-scale calculation of average prompt neutron and γ-ray multiplicities for 243 selected actinide isotopes