Nuclear structure of Au-181 studied via beta(+)/EC decay of Hg-181 at ISOLDE

The $\beta ^+$/EC decay of mass separated samples of $^{181}$Hg was studied employing the TATRA spectrometer at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. The decay scheme was constructed for the first time. A Broad Energy Germanium detector was used to achieve this by combination of high-gain $\gamma$-ray singles spectroscopy and $\gamma$–$\gamma$ coincidences. The systematics of excited states associated with the 1$h_{11/2}$ proton-hole configuration in odd-Au isotopes was extended

Beta-delayed proton emission from 20Mg

Beta-delayed proton emission from 20 Mg has been measured at ISOLDE, CERN, with the ISOLDE Decay Station (IDS) setup including both charged-particle and gamma-ray detection capabilities. A total of 27 delayed proton branches were measured including seven so far unobserved. An updated decay scheme, including three new resonances above the proton separation energy in 20 Na and more precise resonance energies, is presented. Beta-decay feeding to two resonances above the Isobaric Analogue State (IAS) in 20 Na is observed. This may allow studies of the 4032.9(2.4)keV resonance in 19 Ne through the beta decay of 20 Mg, which is important for the astrophysically relevant reaction 15O( $\alpha$ , $\gamma$ )19Ne . Beta-delayed protons were used to obtain a more precise value for the half-life of 20 Mg, 91.4(1.0)ms

Fast-timing study of the l -forbidden 12+→32+ M1 transition in Sn 129 FAST-TIMING STUDY of the l -FORBIDDEN ⋯ R. LICǎ et al.

© 2016 authors. Published by the American Physical Society.The levels in Sn129 populated from the β- decay of In129 isomers were investigated at the ISOLDE facility of CERN using the newly commissioned ISOLDE Decay Station (IDS). The lowest 12+ state and the 32+ ground state in Sn129 are expected to have configurations dominated by the neutron s12 (l=0) and d32 (l=2) single-particle states, respectively. Consequently, these states should be connected by a somewhat slow l-forbidden M1 transition. Using fast-timing spectroscopy we have measured the half-life of the 12+ 315.3-keV state, T12= 19(10) ps, which corresponds to a moderately fast M1 transition. Shell-model calculations using the CD-Bonn effective interaction, with standard effective charges and g factors, predict a 4-ns half-life for this level. We can reconcile the shell-model calculations to the measured T12 value by the renormalization of the M1 effective operator for neutron holes

Does social capital travel? Influences on the life satisfaction of young people living in England and Spain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study used a social capital framework to examine the relationship between a set of potential protective ('health assets') factors and the wellbeing of 15 year adolescents living in Spain and England. The overall purpose of the study was to compare the consistency of these relationships between countries and to investigate their respective relative importance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were drawn from the 2002, English and Spanish components of the WHO Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey A total of 3,591 respondents (1884, Spain; 1707, England) aged 15, drawn from random samples of students in 215 and 80 schools respectively were included in the study. A series of univariate, bivariate and multivariate (general linear modelling and decision tree) analyses were used to establish the relationships.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results showed that the wellbeing of Spanish and English adolescents is similar and good. Three measures of social capital and 2 measures of social support were found to be important factors in the general linear model. Namely, family autonomy and control; family and school sense of belonging; and social support at home and school. However, there were differences in how the sub components of social capital manifest themselves in each country--feelings of autonomy of control, were more important in England and social support factors in Spain.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There is some evidence to suggest that social capital (and its related concept of social support) do travel and are applicable to young people living in Spain and England. Given the different constellation of assets found in each country, it is not possible to define exactly the precise formula for applying social capital across cultures. This should more appropriately be defined at the programme planning stage.</p

Commissioning of the BRIKEN beta-delayed neutron detector for the study of exotic neutron-rich nuclei

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Antiviral activity of the mineralocorticoid receptor NR3C2 against Herpes simplex virus Type 1 (HSV-1) infection

Abstract Analysis of a genome-scale RNA interference screen of host factors affecting herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) revealed that the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) inhibits HSV-1 replication. As a ligand-activated transcription factor the MR regulates sodium transport and blood pressure in the kidney in response to aldosterone, but roles have recently been elucidated for the MR in other cellular processes. Here, we show that the MR and other members of the mineralocorticoid signalling pathway including HSP90 and FKBP4, possess anti-viral activity against HSV-1 independent of their effect on sodium transport, as shown by sodium channel inhibitors. Expression of the MR is upregulated upon infection in an interferon (IFN) and viral transcriptional activator VP16-dependent fashion. Furthermore, the MR and VP16, together with the cellular co-activator Oct-1, transactivate the hormone response element (HRE) present in the MR promoter and those of its transcriptional targets. As the MR induces IFN expression, our data suggests the MR is involved in a positive feedback loop that controls HSV-1 infection

The Advanced Implantation Detector Array (AIDA)

The Advanced Implantation Detector Array (AIDA) is a state-of-the-art detector system for the measurement of the decay properties of exotic nuclei at fragmentation/fission facilities. Built around stacks of up to eight 8cm×8cm, 128 × 128 strip (16384 pixels) or up to four 24cm×8cm, 384 × 128 strip (49152 pixels) double sided silicon strip detectors, the positions of both implanted ions and their subsequent decay products can be measured to sub-mm precision. The large number of pixels per detector provide implant-decay correlations at implantation rates ∼kHz. To process signals from the large number of strips application specific integrated circuits provide low and high gain signal processing per strip (20 GeV and 20 MeV full scale range) with a dynamic range of 1000:1, or better. A summary of the system and the analysis methodologies used are presented