Measurement and comparison of individual external doses of high-school students living in Japan, France, Poland and Belarus -- the "D-shuttle" project --

Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an electronic personal dosimeter "D-shuttle" for two weeks, and kept a journal of his/her whereabouts and activities. The distributions of annual external doses estimated for each region overlap with each other, demonstrating that the personal external individual doses in locations where residence is currently allowed in Fukushima Prefecture and in Belarus are well within the range of estimated annual doses due to the background radiation level of other regions/countries

Search for the decay KL0→3γK_L^0 \rightarrow 3\gamma

We performed a search for the decay $K_L^0 \rightarrow 3\gamma$ with the E391a detector at KEK. In the data accumulated in 2005, no event was observed in the signal region. Based on the assumption of $K_L^0 \rightarrow 3\gamma$ proceeding via parity-violation, we obtained the single event sensitivity to be $(3.23\pm0.14)\times10^{-8}$, and set an upper limit on the branching ratio to be $7.4\times10^{-8}$ at the 90% confidence level. This is a factor of 3.2 improvement compared to the previous results. The results of $K_L^0 \rightarrow 3\gamma$ proceeding via parity-conservation were also presented in this paper

Identification of N-homocysteinylated apolipoprotein AI in normal human serum

Background: In human serum, a portion of homocysteine (Hcy) exists as an N-linked form to the {varepsilon}-amino group of protein lysine residues. N-homocysteinylated proteins differ structurally and functionally from native proteins. The present study strives to develop detection and potential semi-quantification methods for N-homocysteinylated apolipoprotein AI (N-Hcy-apoAI) in human serum.Methods: Serum treated with or without cysteamine was supplied to isoelectric focusing (IEF) followed by an immunoblot using an anti-apoAI antibody. Cysteamine treatment increased the isoelectric point for N-Hcy-apoAI, but not for unmodified apoAI, due to the presence of -SH group(s) derived from Hcy and the absence of a cysteine residue in the apoAI molecule. N-Hcy-apoAI was semi-quantified from the scanned immunoblot pattern via a computer.Results: After cysteamine treatment, N-Hcy-apoAI in the serum was identified by IEF at the position with a higher pI value compared with intact apoAI. The reproducibility (between assays) of the semi-quantification method was 19.1% CV (coefficient of variation) for an average ratio 5.9% of N-Hcy-apoAI to the whole apoAI in the serum. Approximately 1.0–7.4% of apoAI was N-homocysteinylated in the serum obtained from 27 healthy subjects. Neither the ratio of N-Hcy-apoAI nor its concentration, calculated by total apoAI concentration, indicated correlation with the so-called total (free and S-linked) Hcy concentration.Conclusions: We directly found that a portion of apoAI in the serum undergoes homocysteinylation in an N-linkage manner, and used this to develop a potential semi-quantification method for N-Hcy-apoAI

Experimental study of the decay KL0→π0ννˉK_L^0\to\pi^0\nu\bar{\nu}

The first dedicated search for the rare neutral-kaon decay $K_L^0\to\pi^0\nu\bar{\nu}$ has been carried out in the E391a experiment at the KEK 12-GeV proton synchrotron. The final upper limit of 2.6 $\times 10^{-8}$ at the 90% confidence level was set on the branching ratio for the decay.Comment: 23 pages, 27 figures, accepted for publication as a regular article in Physical Review

Conceptual design of a collimator for the neutron emission profile monitor in JT-60SA using Monte Carlo simulations

Materials and structures of a collimator for a new neutron emission profile monitor in JT-60SA are examined through Monte Carlo simulations using the Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code. First, the shielding properties of various material combinations are compared in order to determine a combination with high shielding performances against both neutrons and gamma-rays. It is found that a collimator consisting of borated polyethylene and lead has a high shielding performance against neutrons. Moreover, a high shielding performance against gamma-rays is obtained when a lead pipe with a radial thickness of 0.01 m is inserted into a collimation tube. Second, we demonstrate that it is possible to improve the spatial resolution to a desired level by installing a thin tubular extension structure that fits into the limited space available between the main collimator block and the tokamak device. Finally, the collimator structures that meet both the targeted spatial resolutions (<10% of the plasma minor radius) and the targeted counting rate (105 cps order) are discussed

Assessment of a novel, capsid-modified adenovirus with an improved vascular gene transfer profile

&lt;p&gt;Background: Cardiovascular disorders, including coronary artery bypass graft failure and in-stent restenosis remain significant opportunities for the advancement of novel therapeutics that target neointimal hyperplasia, a characteristic of both pathologies. Gene therapy may provide a successful approach to improve the clinical outcome of these conditions, but would benefit from the development of more efficient vectors for vascular gene delivery. The aim of this study was to assess whether a novel genetically engineered Adenovirus could be utilised to produce enhanced levels of vascular gene expression.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Methods: Vascular transduction capacity was assessed in primary human saphenous vein smooth muscle and endothelial cells using vectors expressing the LacZ reporter gene. The therapeutic capacity of the vectors was compared by measuring smooth muscle cell metabolic activity and migration following infection with vectors that over-express the candidate therapeutic gene tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Results: Compared to Adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5), the novel vector Ad5T*F35++ demonstrated improved binding and transduction of human vascular cells. Ad5T*F35++ mediated expression of TIMP-3 reduced smooth muscle cell metabolic activity and migration in vitro. We also demonstrated that in human serum samples pre-existing neutralising antibodies to Ad5T*F35++ were less prevalent than Ad5 neutralising antibodies.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Conclusions: We have developed a novel vector with improved vascular transduction and improved resistance to human serum neutralisation. This may provide a novel vector platform for human vascular gene transfer.&lt;/p&gt

Shower development of particles with momenta from 15 GeV to 150 GeV in the CALICE scintillator-tungsten hadronic calorimeter

We present a study of showers initiated by electrons, pions, kaons, and protons with momenta from 15 GeV to 150 GeV in the highly granular CALICE scintillator-tungsten analogue hadronic calorimeter. The data were recorded at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron in 2011. The analysis includes measurements of the calorimeter response to each particle type as well as measurements of the energy resolution and studies of the longitudinal and radial shower development for selected particles. The results are compared to Geant4 simulations (version 9.6.p02). In the study of the energy resolution we include previously published data with beam momenta from 1 GeV to 10 GeV recorded at the CERN Proton Synchrotron in 2010.Comment: 35 pages, 21 figures, 8 table

Hadron shower decomposition in the highly granular CALICE analogue hadron calorimeter

The spatial development of hadronic showers in the CALICE scintillator-steel analogue hadron calorimeter is studied using test beam data collected at CERN and FNAL for single positive pions and protons with initial momenta in the range from 10 to 80 GeV/c. Both longitudinal and radial development of hadron showers are parametrised with two-component functions. The parametrisation is fit to test beam data and simulations using the QGSP_BERT and FTFP_BERT physics lists from Geant4 version 9.6. The parameters extracted from data and simulated samples are compared for the two types of hadrons. The response to pions and the ratio of the non-electromagnetic to the electromagnetic calorimeter response, h/e, are estimated using the extrapolation and decomposition of the longitudinal profiles.Comment: 38 pages, 19 figures, 5 tables; author list changed; submitted to JINS