Performance of upstream interaction region detectors for the FIRST experiment at GSI

The FIRST (Fragmentation of Ions Relevant for Space and Therapy) experiment at GSI has been designed to study carbon fragmentation, measuring 12C double differential cross sections (∂2σ/ ∂θ∂E) for different beam energies between 100 and 1000 MeV/u. The experimental setup integrates newly designed detectors in the, so called, Interaction Region around the graphite target. The Interaction Region upstream detectors are a 250 μm thick scintillator and a drift chamber optimized for a precise measurement of the ions interaction time and position on the target. In this article we review the design of the upstream detectors along with the preliminary results of the data taking performed on August 2011 with 400 MeV/u fully stripped carbon ion beam at GSI. Detectors performances will be reviewed and compared to those obtained during preliminary tests, performed with 500 MeV electrons (at the BTF facility in the INFN Frascati Laboratories) and 80 MeV/u protons and carbon ions (at the INFN LNS Laboratories in Catania)

Er3+-doped fluorotellurite thin film glasses with improved photoluminescence emission at 1.53 µm

7 págs.; 5 figs.; 4 tabs.Transparent oxyfluoride tellurite thin film glasses have been produced at room temperature by pulsed laser deposition in O2 atmosphere from an Er-doped TeO2–ZnO–ZnF2 bulk glass. Thin film glasses present high refractive index (n≥1.95) and good transparency (T≥80%) in the visible (λ>400 nm) and near infrared range. However, their photoluminescence (PL) performance at 1.5 μm is poor. Thermal annealing at moderate temperatures (T≤315 °C), well below glass crystallization, increases the PL intensity by more than one order of magnitude as well as the PL lifetime up to τ≈3.3 ms. Film glasses present a larger fraction of TeO3 trigonal pyramids than the bulk glass and a very large OH− content. The structure and composition of film glasses do not change upon annealing and thus the activation of the PL response is related to the improvement of the surface morphology and the significant decrease of their OH− content. & 2015ElsevierB.V.This work has been supported by the Spanish Government (Projects MAT2009-14282-C02-01, MAT2009-14282-C02-02, TEC 2012-38901-C02-01, MAT2013-48246-C2-2-P and FIS2013-48087-C2-1-P).Peer Reviewe

Mid IR emission from highly transparent Er3+ doped tellurite glass ce- ramic for bio applications

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics: Laser Science to Photonic Applications, San Jose, California, USA, 08 - 13 Jun 2014Intense emission peaking at 2.18 ¿m was successfully obtained from erbium upon rigorous engineering of its glass host. Highly localized crystallization of erbium sites is substantiated by micro Raman and micro-PL along with TEM.Peer Reviewe

Active mid-IR emissions from rare-earth doped tellurite glass ceramics for bioapplications

16th International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks, Graz (Grazer Messe), Austria, July 6th - 10th, 2014.Promising bio based applications such as bloodless surgery, non-invasive blood constituents monitoring or high sensitivity tracing of green house gases could be designed starting form optically active materials working within the 2.0-2.3 μm wavelength window. For this purpose, room temperature operated high power devices are entering the market of which rare-earth (RE) doped devices hold a prominent place. But such devices are based today on 3+ rare-earth doping of thulium and holmium. Though Er has an active 2.0 μm transition to achieve broad emission bandwidth, it is usually quenched in an amorphous matrix and hence rarely reported in glasses or any other 3+ as the active ion backbone would leverage efforts and investments done in the telecom industry to non-telecom applications which would allow a quick progression. This work successfully reports the engineering of the base glass matrix to produce the key 2.0 μm emission. This was obtained by specific selection of precursors and custom-designed heat treatment of an Er doped fluorotellurite glass.This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Projects TEC2011-22422, FIS2011-27968 and TEC2012-38901-C02-01)Peer Reviewe

Large-scale production of cellulose-binding domains : adsorption studies using CBD-FITC conjugates

A method for the gram-scale production of cellulose-binding domains (CBD) through the proteolytic digestion of a commercial nzymatic preparation (Celluclast) was developed. The CBD obtained, isolated from Trichoderma reesei cellobiohydrolase I, is highly pure and heavily glycosylated. The purified peptide has a molecular weight of 8.43 kDa, comprising the binding module, a part of the linker, and about 30% glycosidic moiety. Its properties may thus be different from recombinant ones expressed in bacteria. CBDfluorescein isothiocyanate conjugates were used to study the CBD-cellulose interaction. The presence of fluorescent peptides adsorbed on crystalline and amorphous cellulose fibers suggests that amorphous regions have a higher concentration of binding sites. The adsorption is reversible, but desorption is a very slow process.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Strong one-neutron emission from two-neutron unbound states in β decays of the r -process nuclei Ga 86,87

β-delayed one-neutron and two-neutron branching ratios (P1n and P2n) have been measured in the decay of A=84 to 87 Ga isotopes at the Radioactive-Isotope Beam Factory (RIBF) at the RIKEN Nishina Center using a high-efficiency array of He3 neutron counters (BRIKEN). Two-neutron emission was observed in the decay of Ga84,85,87 for the first time and the branching ratios were measured to be P2n=1.6(2)%,1.3(2)%, and 10.2(28)stat(5)sys%, respectively. One-neutron branching ratio of Ga87(P1n=81(9)stat(8)sys%) and half-life of 29(4) ms were measured for the first time. The branching ratios of Ga86 were also measured to be P1n=74(2)stat(8)sys% and 16.2(9)stat(6)sys% with better precision than a previous study. The observation that P1n>P2n for both Ga86,87 was unexpected and is interpreted as a signature of dominating one-neutron emission from the two-neutron unbound excited states in Ge86,87. In order to interpret the experimental results, shell-model and Hauser-Feshbach statistical model calculations of delayed particle and γ-ray emission probabilities were performed. This model framework reproduces the experimental results. The shell model alone predicts P2n significantly larger than P1n for the Ga87 decay, and it is necessary to invoke a statistical description to successfully explain the observation that P1n>P2n. Our new results demonstrate the relevance and importance of a statistical description of neutron emission for the prediction of the decay properties of multineutron emitters and that it must be included in the r-process modeling

Trends and outcome of neoadjuvant treatment for rectal cancer: A retrospective analysis and critical assessment of a 10-year prospective national registry on behalf of the Spanish Rectal Cancer Project

Introduction: Preoperative treatment and adequate surgery increase local control in rectal cancer. However, modalities and indications for neoadjuvant treatment may be controversial. Aim of this study was to assess the trends of preoperative treatment and outcomes in patients with rectal cancer included in the Rectal Cancer Registry of the Spanish Associations of Surgeons. Method: This is a STROBE-compliant retrospective analysis of a prospective database. All patients operated on with curative intention included in the Rectal Cancer Registry were included. Analyses were performed to compare the use of neoadjuvant/adjuvant treatment in three timeframes: I)2006–2009; II)2010–2013; III)2014–2017. Survival analyses were run for 3-year survival in timeframes I-II. Results: Out of 14, 391 patients, 8871 (61.6%) received neoadjuvant treatment. Long-course chemo/radiotherapy was the most used approach (79.9%), followed by short-course radiotherapy ± chemotherapy (7.6%). The use of neoadjuvant treatment for cancer of the upper third (15-11 cm) increased over time (31.5%vs 34.5%vs 38.6%, p = 0.0018). The complete regression rate slightly increased over time (15.6% vs 16% vs 18.5%; p = 0.0093); the proportion of patients with involved circumferential resection margins (CRM) went down from 8.2% to 7.3%and 5.5% (p = 0.0004). Neoadjuvant treatment significantly decreased positive CRM in lower third tumors (OR 0.71, 0.59–0.87, Cochrane-Mantel-Haenszel P = 0.0008). Most ypN0 patients also received adjuvant therapy. In MR-defined stage III patients, preoperative treatment was associated with significantly longer local-recurrence-free survival (p < 0.0001), and cancer-specific survival (p < 0.0001). The survival benefit was smaller in upper third cancers. Conclusion: There was an increasing trend and a potential overuse of neoadjuvant treatment in cancer of the upper rectum. Most ypN0 patients received postoperative treatment. Involvement of CRM in lower third tumors was reduced after neoadjuvant treatment. Stage III and MRcN + benefited the most

Global data on earthworm abundance, biomass, diversity and corresponding environmental properties

14 p.Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their diversity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm diversity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of individual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for example, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground biodiversity distributions and drivers of biodiversity change