Deep excursion beyond the proton dripline. I. Argon and chlorine isotope chains

The proton-unbound argon and chlorine isotopes have been studied by measuring trajectories of their decay-in-flight products by using a tracking technique with microstrip detectors. The proton (1p) and two-proton (2p) emission processes have been detected in the measured angular correlations "heavy-fragment"+p and "heavy-fragment"+p+p, respectively. The ground states of the previously unknown isotopes Cl30 and Cl28 have been observed for the first time, providing the 1p-separation energies Sp of -0.48(2) and -1.60(8), MeV, respectively. The relevant systematics of 1p- and 2p-separation energies have been studied theoretically in the core+p and core+p+p cluster models. The first-time observed excited states of Ar31 allow one to infer the 2p-separation energy S2p of 6(34) keV for its ground state. The first-time observed state in Ar29 with S2p=-5.50(18) MeV can be identified as either a ground state or an excited state according to different systematics

Identification of light particles by means of pulse shape analysis with silicon detector at low energy

Particle separation of 1,2,3H at energy of 3 MeV has been achieved by digital pule shapeanalysis (DPSA) for particles fully stopped in a View the MathML sourcesilicondetector. Light charged particles were produced in a nuclear reaction induced by a 34 MeV beam of 7Li impinging on a 12C target. Proton-deuterium identification has also been observed at 2 MeV using mono-energetic beams. A 20 keV resolution neutron transmutation doped (NTD) silicondetector was employed in a low-field injection setup. The method uses the parameters obtained both from the charge and current pulses generated by a high bandwidth charge sensitive preamplifier. The simplicity of the electronic chain plus the experimental conditions allowed the team to work with very low noise achieving signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at values greater than 10

Dependency on the silicon detector working bias for proton-deuteron particle identification at low energies

Proton-deuteron identification at energies between 2.5 MeV and 6 MeV has been studied as a function of the detector working bias. Digital pulse shape analysis (DPSA) has been used to perform the separation from the two mono-energetic beams. The technique makes use of the current signal delivered by a View the MathML source500μm neutron transmutation doped (NTD) silicon detector, which was setup for low-field injection. It is shown that identification of the H isotopes is better when the detector working bias is close to the depletion voltage rather than over-depletion. The presence of high frequency noise diminished the possibility of identification, however, the use of a simple triangular smoothing algorithm counteracted this

Cerebral folate deficiency syndromes in childhood: clinical, analytical, and etiologic aspects.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral folate deficiency may be amenable to therapeutic supplementation. Diverse metabolic pathways and unrelated processes can lead to cerebrospinal fluid 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) depletion, the hallmark of cerebral folate deficiency. OBJECTIVE: To analyze cerebral folate abundance in a large prospective series of children diagnosed with any neurologic disorder for which a diagnostic lumbar puncture was indicated. DESIGN: We studied the spectrum and frequency of disorders associated with cerebral folate deficiency by measuring cerebrospinal fluid 5-MTHF, biogenic amines, and pterins. Direct sequencing of the FOLR1 transporter gene was also performed in some patients. SETTING: Academic pediatric medical center. PARTICIPANTS: We studied 134 individuals free of neurometabolic disease and 584 patients with any of several diseases of the central nervous system. RESULTS: Of 584 patients, 71 (12%) exhibited 5-MTHF deficiency. Mild to moderate deficiency (n = 63; range, 19-63 nmol/L) was associated with perinatal asphyxia, central nervous system infection, or diseases of probable genetic origin (inborn errors of metabolism, white matter disorders, Rett syndrome, or epileptic encephalopathies). Severe 5-MTHF depletion (n = 8; range, 0.6-13 nmol/L) was detected in severe MTHF reductase deficiency, Kearns-Sayre syndrome, biotin-responsive striatal necrosis, acute necrotizing encephalitis of Hurst, and FOLR1 defect. A strong correlation was observed between cerebrospinal fluid and plasma folate levels in cerebral folate deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Of the 2 main forms of cerebral folate deficiency identified, mild to moderate 5-MTHF deficiency was most commonly associated with disorders bearing no primary relation to folate metabolism, whereas profound 5-MTHF depletion was associated with specific mitochondrial disorders, metabolic and transporter defects, or cerebral degenerations. The results suggest that 5-MTHF can serve either as the hallmark of inborn disorders of folate transport and metabolism or, more frequently, as an indicator of neurologic dysfunction

Cerebrospinal fluid alterations of the serotonin product, 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid, in neurological disorders.

Although patients with low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) serotonin metabolite levels have been reported, inborn errors of the rate-limiting enzyme of serotonin synthesis (tryptophan hydroxylase, TPH) have not been described so far. In this study we aimed to evaluate CSF alterations of the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA) in patients with neurological disorders and to explore a possible TPH deficiency in some of them. A total of 606 patients (286 males, 320 females, mean age 4 years and 6 months, SD 5 years and 7 months) underwent CSF analysis of neurotransmitter metabolites by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. Results were compared with values established in a control population. Patients' medical records were reviewed to determine diagnosis and clinical features. A primary defect of biogenic amines was genetically investigated in indicated patients. Low 5-HIAA was seen in 19.3%. Of these, 22.2% showed inborn errors of metabolism (mitochondrial disorders being the most frequent at 10.2% of low 5-HIAA patients) and neurogenetic conditions. Other relatively frequent conditions were pontocerebellar hypoplasia (4.3%), Rett syndrome (4.3%), and among congenital nonetiologically determined conditions, epilepsy including epileptic encephalopathies (26.4%), leukodystrophies (6.8%), and neuropsychiatric disturbances (4.2%). Mutational analysis of the TPH2 gene, performed in five candidate patients, was negative. Although frequency of secondary alteration of 5-HIAA was relatively high in patients with neurological disorders, this finding was more frequently associated with some neurometabolic disorders, epileptic encephalopathies, and neuropsychiatric disturbances. No inborn errors of TPH were found. Due to serotonin's neurotrophic role and to ameliorate symptoms, a supplementary treatment with 5-hydroxytriptophan would seem advisable in these patients

Pulse shape discrimination at low energies with a double sided, small-pitch strip silicon detector

We achieved particle separation of proton, deuteron and triton at energies ranging between 2 and 10 MeV by the processing of digitized signals obtained with a double-sided, 485-μm pitch strip, 500-μm thick neutron transmutation doped (nTD) silicon detector. We produced the light charged particles in a nuclear reaction induced by a 34-MeV beam of 7Li impinging on a 12C target. We analyzed offline the signals with the goal of a simplified, possibly analog, front-end electronics in mind for the processing of the 15,000 channels of the new state-of-the-art detectors for low energy nuclear physics like GASPARD, HYDE and TRACE which should make use of such methods. At the optimum bias, using the current amplitude versus charge correlation, we obtain a separation of 3 FWHM between protons and deuteron, and 2 FWHM between deuteron and triton at energies as low as 2 MeV; with a square bipolar filter, suited for simple implementation, we separate them by 4.3 and 2.7 FWHM respectively at 5 MeV

Interstrip effects influence on the particle identification of highly segmented silicon strip detector in a nuclear reaction scenario

Identification of the interstrip effects using digital pulse shape analysis is for the first time reported. This study is performed on a highly segmented double-sided silicon detector used in a nuclear reaction in which a large range of particles at different energies are produced. The output current pulse of the preamplifier is employed as observable. The interstrip effects diminish the capability of particle identification at energies below 5 MeV, especially on the injection side of the detector

The 4 \u3c0 highly-efficient light-charged-particle detector EUCLIDES, installed at the GALILEO array for in-beam \u3b3 -ray spectroscopy

In a fusion-evaporation reaction, nuclei are produced by evaporating light-charged particles and neutrons from the compound nucleus. Typically, a nucleus of interest is produced as a result of a part of the total cross-section and, in order to guarantee a good channel discrimination, a particle detector, like the EUCLIDES $4\pi$ Si-ball array, is necessary. EUCLIDES has been quoted in more than a hundred publications resulting from many experiments performed in combination with the EUROBALL and GASP $\gamma$-ray spectrometers. The present paper reports on the upgraded version of EUCLIDES, that is presently coupled to the new GALILEO $\gamma$-ray spectrometer, installed at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, INFN. The design, characteristics and performance of the EUCLIDES array are presented and discussed