Study of the nat^{nat}Sm(γ,xn)143m,g(\gamma ,xn)^{143m,g}Sm Reactions Induced by Bremsstrahlung with End-point Energies Just above GDR Region

We investigate the energy dependence of the isomeric yield ratios for the $^{nat}$Sm$(\gamma ,xn)^{143m,g}$Sm reactions with bremsstrahlung energies of 40-, 45-, and 50-MeV, just above the giant dipole resonance (GDR) region by the off-line $\gamma$-ray spectrometric method. The bremsstrahlung photons were produced from the 100 MeV electron linear accelerator (linac) at the Pohang accelerator laboratory (PAL), Pohang, Korea. In order to improve the accuracy of the experimental results the necessary corrections were made. The present results are compared with similar literature data of the $^{nat}$Sm($\gamma$,xn)$^{143m,g}$Sm reactions measured at various photon energies and of the $^{nat}$Sm(n,2n)$^{143m,g}$Sm reaction induced by 14 MeV neutrons in order to examine the effects of an excitation energy and an input angular momentum

Cross Sections for the nat^{nat}Zr(p,xn)89,90(p,xn)^{89,90}Nb Reactions Induced by 27.7 MeV Protons

The cross-sections for the formation of $^{89}$Nb and  $^{90}$Nb radionuclides in proton induced nuclear reactions on zirconium  were measured by using the well known activation method. The natural  zirconium ($^{nat}$Zr) target and copper ($^{nat}$Cu) monitor foils were  irradiated by 27.7 MeV proton beam at the MC50 Cyclotron of the Korea  Institute of Radiological and Medical Science (KIRAMS), Korea. The induced  gamma activities of the reaction products were measured by a coaxial high  purity germanium (HPGe) detector coupled to a PC-based multichannel  analyzer. The obtained cross sections for each nuclide are compared with  those existing in literature and with the theoretical cross sections  calculated by the TALYS - 1.4 code

Study of Multiple Photoneutron Reactions on 197Au Induced by 2.5 GeV Bremsstrahlung

We identified eight radionuclides $^{196}$Au, $^{195}$Au, $^{194}$Au, $^{193}$Au, $^{192}$Au, $^{191}$Au, $^{190}$Au, $^{189}$Au formed via the multiple photoneutron reactions $^{197}$Au$(\gamma ,kn)^{197 - k}$Au with 2.5 GeV\break bremsstrahlung. The yields of radionuclides that decay by emitting $\gamma$-ray were measured using high purity germanium (HPGe) detector coupled to a PC-based multichannel analyzer. In order to improve the accuracy of the experimental results the necessary corrections were made. The obtained results are compared with reference data and the variations of the $^{197}$Au($\gamma$,kn)$^{197 - k}$Au reaction yields according to incident bremsstrahlung energy and neutron multiplicity are also discussed

Measurement of Thermal Neutron Capture Cross Section and Resonance Integral for the 45^{45}Sc(n,γ)46(n,\gamma)^{46}Sc Reaction with Pulsed Neutrons

Thermal neutron capture cross section and resonance integral for the $^{45}$Sc(n,$\gamma )^{46}$Sc reaction were measured by the activation method using the $^{197}$Au(n,$\gamma )^{198}$Au reaction as a single comparator. The high-purity scandium and gold samples with and without Cd cover with the thickness of 0.5 mm were irradiated in a pulsed neutron field of the 100 MeV electron linac of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory (PAL). The induced activities in the activated foils were measured with a well calibrated HPGe detector. In order to improve the accuracy of the experimental results the effect of the non-ideal epithermal spectrum was taken in to account by determining the neutron spectrum shape factor ($\alpha )$, and the corrections for the thermal (G$_{th})$ and the resonance (G$_{epi})$ neutron self-shielding effects, the $\gamma$-ray attenuation (F$_{g})$ and the $\gamma$-ray coincidence summing effect were made. The thermal neutron cross-section for the $^{45}$Sc(n,$\gamma )^{46}$Sc reaction has been determined to be $\sigma _{o}$ = 27.6 $\pm$ 0.8 barn. By assuming the cadmium cut-off energy of 0.55 eV, the resonance integral for the $^{45}$Sc(n,$\gamma )^{46}$Sc reaction has been determined to be I$_{o}$ = 12.7 $\pm$ 0.7 bar. The present results are compared with the reference data and discussed

Integrated Cross Sections of the Photo-Neutron Reactions Induced on 197^{197}Au with 60 MeV\text{MeV} Bremsstrahlung

Abstract. Seven photo-neutron reactions 197Au(γ,xn)197-xAu (with x=1-7) produced by the bremsstrahlung end-point energy of 60 MeV were identified. In this work, we focus on the measurement of integrated sections. Experiments were carried out based on the activation method in combination with off-line gamma-ray spectrometric technique. The integrated cross sections of the investigated reactions were determined relative to that of the monitoring reaction 197Au(γ,n)196Au. To validate the experimental results, theoretical predictions were also made using the computer code TALYS 1.9. The current integrated cross-sections of the 197Au(γ,xn)197-xAu reactions with 60 MeV bremsstrahlung end point energy are measured for the first time

Yield Ratios of the Isomeric Pair 179m,g^{179m,g}W Produced in the nat^{nat}W(g,xn)179m,g^{179m,g}W Reactions with 50-65 MeV Bremsstrahlung

In this work we present the yield ratios of the $^{179m,g}$W isomeric pair produced in the photonuclear reactions $^{nat}$W(g,xn)$^{179m,g}$W  with bremsstrahlung end-point energies of 50-, 55-, 60-, and 65-MeV. The measurements were carried out by the induced activity method in combination with direct gamma-ray spectrometry. The measured activities were corrected for overlapping gamma-ray peaks, self-absorption of low energy gamma-rays and true coincidence summing effects. The present results  are measured for the first time with bremsstrahlung end-point energies beyond the giant dipole resonance region. The obtained results are discussed with respect to the incident bremsstrahlung energies and reaction channel effect

Simulation for Optimizing the Design of Cryogenic Stopping Cell for the IGISOL Facility at ELI-NP

The production of the exotic neutron-rich ion beams from photofission of the actinide targets in an IGISOL facility will be studied via an experimental program that will take place at the Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) facility. Geant4 simulation toolkit was used for optimizing the target configuration in order to maximize the rate of released photofission fragments from targets placed in a cell filled with He gas

Surveillance and treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (aka. STOP HCC): protocol for a prospective cohort study of high-risk patients for HCC using GALAD-score.

Vietnam and Saudi Arabia have high disease burden of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Early detection in asymptomatic patients at risk for HCC is a strategy to improve survival outcomes in HCC management. GALAD score, a serum-based panel, has demonstrated promising clinical utility in HCC management. However, in order to ascertain its potential role in the surveillance of the early detection of HCC, GALAD needs to be validated prospectively for clinical surveillance of HCC (i.e., phase IV biomarker validation study). Thus, we propose to conduct a phase IV biomarker validation study to prospectively survey a cohort of patients with advanced fibrosis or compensated cirrhosis, irrespective of etiologies, using semi-annual abdominal ultrasound and GALAD score for five years. We plan to recruit a cohort of 1,600 patients, male or female, with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis (i.e., F3 or F4) and MELD ≤ 15, in Vietnam and Saudi Arabia (n = 800 each). Individuals with a liver mass ≥ 1 cm in diameter, elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (≥ 9 ng/mL), and/or elevated GALAD score (≥ -0.63) will be scanned with dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and a diagnosis of HCC will be made by Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LiRADS) assessment (LiRADS-5). Additionally, those who do not exhibit abnormal imaging findings, elevated AFP titer, and/or elevated GALAD score will obtain a dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI annually for five years to assess for HCC. Only MRI nearest to the time of GALAD score measurement, ultrasound and/or AFP evaluation will be included in the diagnostic validation analysis. MRI will be replaced with an abdominal computed tomography scan when MRI results are poor due to patient conditions such as movement etc. Gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-enhanced MRI will not be carried out in study sites in both countries. Bootstrap resampling technique will be used to account for repeated measures to estimate standard errors and confidence intervals. Additionally, we will use the Cox proportional hazards regression model with covariates tailored to the hypothesis under investigation for time-to-HCC data as predicted by time-varying biomarker data. The present work will evaluate the performance of GALAD score in early detection of liver cancer. Furthermore, by leveraging the prospective cohort, we will establish a biorepository of longitudinally collected biospecimens from patients with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis to be used as a reference set for future research in early detection of HCC in the two countries. Name of the registry: ClinicalTrials.gov Registration date: 22 April 2022 Trial registration number: NCT05342350 URL of trial registry record

Awareness and preparedness of healthcare workers against the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey across 57 countries.

BACKGROUND: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave. METHODS: This multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected COVID-19 patients and prior COVID-19 case-management training. RESULTS: We surveyed 24,653 HCWs from 371 hospitals across 57 countries and received 17,302 responses from 70.2% HCWs overall. The median COVID-19 preparedness score was 11.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6.0-14.0) and the median awareness score was 29.6 (IQR = 26.6-32.6). HCWs at COVID-19 designated facilities with previous outbreak experience, or HCWs who were trained for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, had significantly higher levels of preparedness and awareness (p<0.001). Association rule mining suggests that nurses and doctors who had a 'great-extent-of-confidence' in handling suspected COVID-19 patients had participated in COVID-19 training courses. Male participants (mean difference = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.46; p<0.001) and nurses (mean difference = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.53, 0.81; p<0.001) had higher preparedness scores compared to women participants and doctors. INTERPRETATION: There was an unsurprising high level of awareness and preparedness among HCWs who participated in COVID-19 training courses. However, disparity existed along the lines of gender and type of HCW. It is unknown whether the difference in COVID-19 preparedness that we detected early in the pandemic may have translated into disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 burden of disease by gender or HCW type