Photonuclear reactions with Zinc: A case for clinical linacs

The use of bremsstrahlung photons produced by a linac to induce photonuclear reactions is wide spread. However, using a clinical linac to produce the photons is a new concept. We aimed to induce photonuclear reactions on zinc isotopes and measure the subsequent transition energies and half-lives. For this purpose, a bremsstrahlung photon beam of 18 MeV endpoint energy produced by the Philips SLI-25 linac has been used. The subsequent decay has been measured with a well-shielded single HPGe detector. The results obtained for transition energies are in good agreement with the literature data and in many cases surpass these in accuracy. For the half-lives, we are in agreement with the literature data, but do not achieve their precision. The obtained accuracy for the transition energies show what is achievable in an experiment such as ours. We demonstrate the usefulness and benefits of employing clinical linacs for nuclear physics experiments

The Confidence Database

Understanding how people rate their confidence is critical for the characterization of a wide range of perceptual, memory, motor and cognitive processes. To enable the continued exploration of these processes, we created a large database of confidence studies spanning a broad set of paradigms, participant populations and fields of study. The data from each study are structured in a common, easy-to-use format that can be easily imported and analysed using multiple software packages. Each dataset is accompanied by an explanation regarding the nature of the collected data. At the time of publication, the Confidence Database (which is available at https://osf.io/s46pr/) contained 145 datasets with data from more than 8,700 participants and almost 4 million trials. The database will remain open for new submissions indefinitely and is expected to continue to grow. Here we show the usefulness of this large collection of datasets in four different analyses that provide precise estimations of several foundational confidence-related effects

Provenance of the Paleozoic to Mesozoic siliciclastic rocks of the Istanbul Zone: detrital zircon U-Pb ages and Lu-Hf isotope data

This dataset includes U-Pb detrital zircon ages and Lu-Hf analyses from a provenance study on the Paleozoic to Mesozoic siliciclastic rocks of the Istanbul Zone, NW Turkey.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Cecal giant lipoma mimicking malignancy

[No abstract available

Optogenetic control of receptors reveals distinct roles for actin- and Cdc42-dependent negative signals in chemotactic signal processing.

During chemotaxis, neutrophils use cell surface G Protein Coupled Receptors to detect chemoattractant gradients. The downstream signaling system is wired with multiple feedback loops that amplify weak inputs and promote spatial separation of cell front and rear activities. Positive feedback could promote rapid signal spreading, yet information from the receptors is transmitted with high spatial fidelity, enabling detection of small differences in chemoattractant concentration across the cell. How the signal transduction network achieves signal amplification while preserving spatial information remains unclear. The GTPase Cdc42 is a cell-front polarity coordinator that is predictive of cell turning, suggesting an important role in spatial processing. Here we directly measure information flow from receptors to Cdc42 by pairing zebrafish parapinopsina, an optogenetic G Protein Coupled Receptor with reversible ON/OFF control, with a spectrally compatible red/far red Cdc42 Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer biosensor. Using this toolkit, we show that positive and negative signals downstream of G proteins shape a rapid, dose-dependent Cdc42 response. Furthermore, F-actin and Cdc42 itself provide two distinct negative signals that limit the duration and spatial spread of Cdc42 activation, maintaining output signals local to the originating receptors

Signaling dynamics distinguish high- and low-priority neutrophil chemoattractant receptors

Human neutrophils respond to multiple chemoattractants to guide their migration from the vasculature to sites of infection and injury, where they clear pathogens and amplify inflammation. To properly focus their responses during this complex navigation, neutrophils prioritize pathogen- and injury-derived signals over long-range inflammatory signals, such as the leukotriene LTB4, secreted by host cells. Different chemoattractants can also drive qualitatively different modes of migration even though their receptors couple to the same Gαi family of G proteins. Here, we used live-cell imaging to demonstrate that the responses differed in their signaling dynamics. Low-priority chemoattractants caused transient responses, whereas responses to high-priority chemoattractants were sustained. We observed this difference in both primary neutrophils and differentiated HL-60 cells, for downstream signaling mediated by Ca2+, a major regulator of secretion, and Cdc42, a primary regulator of polarity and cell steering. The rapid attenuation of Cdc42 activation in response to LTB4 depended on the phosphorylation sites Thr308 and Ser310 in the carboxyl-terminal tail of its receptor LTB4R in a manner independent of endocytosis. Mutation of these residues to alanine impaired chemoattractant prioritization, although it did not affect chemoattractant-dependent differences in migration persistence. Our results indicate that distinct temporal regulation of shared signaling pathways distinguishes between receptors and contributes to chemoattractant prioritization

The Effect of Milling Time and Sintering Temperature on Crystallization of BaFe₁₂O₁₉ Phase and Magnetic Properties of Ba-Hexaferrite Magnet

Barium hexaferrite samples were prepared by mechanical alloying using the stoichiometric amounts of BaCO₃ and Fe₂O₃ precursors followed by heat treatment applied in the temperature range 700-1150°C. It was found that the high energy ball mill with a milling rate enabled to obtain powders with the finer particles at the reduced milling time mechanical alloying of the initial powders linked to the formation of barium hexaferrite phase. The exothermic reaction peaks corresponding to the formation of BaFe₁₂O₁₉ phase shift from 928°C to 793°C for the increased milling time up to 6 h. This was resulted in improved magnetic properties that the Mₛ value of the as-blended sample sintered at 800°C rised from 31.16 emu/g to 53.46 emu/g after milling for 6 h. The saturation magnetization and remanence values of the samples mechanically alloyed for 3 h and sintered at 1150°C also increased to 63.57 emu/g and 31.26 emu/g, respectively, more than for 800°C and 900°C. The increase in the annealing temperature favours the formation of BaFe₁₂O₁₉ phase in the samples

Intrinsic surface-drying properties of bioadhesive proteins

Sessile marine mussels must "dry" underwater surfaces before adhering to them. Synthetic adhesives have yet to overcome this fundamental challenge. Previous studies of bioinspired adhesion have largely been performed under applied compressive forces, but such studies are poor predictors of the ability of an adhesive to spontaneously penetrate surface hydration layers. In a force-free approach to measuring molecular-level interaction through surface-water diffusivity, different mussel foot proteins were found to have different abilities to evict hydration layers from surfaces - a necessary step for adsorption and adhesion. It was anticipated that DOPA would mediate dehydration owing to its efficacy in bioinspired wet adhesion. Instead, hydrophobic side chains were found to be a critical component for protein-surface intimacy. This direct measurement of interfacial water dynamics during force-free adsorptive interactions at solid surfaces offers guidance for the engineering of wet adhesives and coatings. Home and dry underwater: Repulsive hydration forces hinder wet adhesion in the absence of applied external forces. The direct measurement of hydration-water dynamics by NMR relaxometry at 10 GHz revealed that the most hydrophobic mussel adhesive protein, and not the most enriched with 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, effectively dries the surface and overcomes repulsive hydration forces to adsorb spontaneously to surfaces in preparation for adhesion.National Science Foundation (NSF) through the MRSEC Program (DMR-1121053); MRSEC Program of the NSF (DMR-1121053); NIH Innovator Award; US National Institutes of Health (R01 DE018468); Human Frontiers of Science Progra