Thermal behaviour of hydrated lysozyme in the presence of sucrose and trehalose by EINS

The main aim of the present work is to investigate the dynamical effects of the addition of disaccharides to hydrated lysozyme. The Self-Distribution-Function procedure is at first applied on Elastic Incoherent Neutron Scattering data obtained by the IN13 spectrometer on trehalose/H₂O and sucrose/H₂O where it highlights a different Q-dependence for the two disaccharides. Then a quantitative analysis of the Mean Square Displacement of lysozyme/trehalose/H₂O and of lysozyme/sucrose/H₂O from Elastic Incoherent Neutron Scattering data obtained by the IN10 spectrometer is presented. It is shown how the resolution function gives rise to a time integration of a given time-dependent Mean Square Displacement function. Furthermore the analysis shows that the protein dynamical transition, registered at a temperature value of about T = 200-220 K in the H₂O hydrated lysozyme sample, is inhibited by the addition of the disaccharides.     

惯性约束聚变的中子半影成像诊断系统的优化研究

在激光驱动的惯性约束聚变实验中,中子半影成像是重要的诊断方法.基于分辨率的要求,模拟了中子源与半影孔装置间不同距离、半影孔装置不同厚度、半影孔装置不同外径以及不同孔型的系统点扩展函数,通过分析点扩展函数的尖锐性和等晕性优化诊断系统.同时还给出了系统的装配误差要求,并发现系统在线性重建时能达到15 μm分辨率,而非线性重建时能满足5 μm分辨率的诊断要求. 关键词： 中子半影成像 Monte Carlo方法 系统优化 分辨率     

电荷屏蔽对快中子俘获过程的影响

本文计算在初生中子星中微子驱动的星风环境中弱电荷屏蔽对质子电子俘获反应的影响.结果表明电荷屏蔽对星风中核子的比加热率、熵等物理参量基本没有影响.但是可以明显提高电子丰度,而这种提高有力地支持了最新的快中子俘获核合成结果.     

Quark-clustering in cold quark matter

Quarks are proposed to be grouped together to make quark-clusters due to the strong interaction in cold quark matter at a few nuclear densities, because a weakly coupling treatment of the interaction between quarks there would be inadequate. Cold quark matter is then conjectured to be in solid state (i.e., forming a crystal structure) if the inter-cluster potential is deep enough to localize clusters in lattice. Such a solid state of cold quark matter would be very necessary for us to understand different manifestations of pulsar-like compact stars, and could not be ruled by first principles.     

Capillary electrophoresis–electrospray mass spectrometry and HR–ICP–MS for the detection and quantification of 10B-boronophenylalanine (10B–BPA) used in boron neutron capture therapy

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a bimodal radiotherapeutic treatment based on the irradiation of neoplastic tissues with neutrons after the tissues have selectively accumulated molecules loaded with nuclides with large neutron capture cross-sections (such boron-10). Boron-10 carriers have been tested to a limited extent, and clinical trials have been conducted on sulfhydryl borane (¹⁰B-BSH) and boronophenylalanine (¹⁰B-BPA). However, precise and accurate measurements of boron-10 concentrations (0.1–100 μg/g) in specimens and samples of limited size (μg scale) are needed in order to be able to biologically characterise new compounds in predictive tissue dosimetry, toxicology and pharmacology studies as well as in clinical investigations. A new approach based on fast separation and detection of ¹⁰B-BPA performed by coupling capillary electrophoresis to electrospray mass spectrometry is reported. This method allows the quantitative analysis and characterisation of ¹⁰B-BPA in a short time with a high separation efficiency. Detection limits of 3 μM for ¹⁰B-BPA and 30 ng/mL for ¹⁰B were obtained with CE–ESI–MS. A quantification limit of 10 μM for ¹⁰B-BPA (100 ng/mL for ¹⁰B) was attained. The total boron-10 concentration was determined by high-resolution inductively coupled mass spectrometry in order to validate the method. Boron-10 isotope measurements were carried out by HR–ICP–MS at medium resolution (R=4000) due to the presence of an isobaric interference at mass 10. Good agreement was obtained between the values from CE–ESI–MS and those from HR–ICP–MS. The method has been successfully used to determine the ¹⁰B-BPA in two lines of cultured cells.     

A revisit to the neutron skin thickness of neutron-rich nuclei in the statistical abrasion ablation model

The cross sections of the fragments produced in the projectile fragmentation reactions of the even calcium isotopes from A=36 to A=52 are calculated using the statistical abrasion ablation model.The neutron skin thickness are studied by investigating the fragments isotopic cross section distributions.The neutron-skin thicknesses of the calcium isotopes have a good linear correlation to the peak positions of their fragment isotopic cross section distributions.The correlation between the neutron skin thickness and the neutron density distributions of 48 Ca is investigated by introducing a parameter to adjust the diffuseness parameter in the fermi-type density distribution.     

Atomic motion in Se nanoparticles embedded into a porous glass matrix

By neutron diffraction it was shown that nanostructured Se confined within a porous glass matrix exists in a crystalline as well as in an amorphous state. The spontaneous crystallization of crystalline Se from confined amorphous phase was observed. The root-mean-square amplitudes of the atomic motions in the bulk as well as in confinement are found to be essentially different in a basal plane and in the perpendicular direction along the hexagonal axis. The atomic motions in the confined Se differ from the atomic motions in the bulk at low temperatures. The results shows an unusual “freezing" of the atomic motion along the chains, while the atomic motions in the perpendicular plane still keep. This “freezing" is accompanied by the deformation of nanoparticles and the appearance of inner stresses. This effect is attributed to the interaction of confined nanoparticle with the cavity walls.     

Morphology of Polystyrene Core–dPoly(ethylene oxide) Shell Arborescent Copolymer Micelles from Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Analysis

Arborescent (dendrigraft) copolymers with a branched polystyrene (PS) core grafted at the chain termini with deuterated poly(ethylene oxide) segments (PS-dPEO) were characterized in benzene and acetone by small-angle neutron scattering measurements using the contrast matching technique. While copolymers incorporating a G1 (twice-grafted) PS core aggregated to some extent, the portion of the scattering curve corresponding to non-aggregated copolymer molecules could still be analyzed to determine the shape and segment radial density profile for core and shell. These were derived from the pair distance distribution function P(r) and the scattering length density contrast profile Δρ(r) = ρ(r) ? ρ(solvent), obtained by the indirect Fourier transformation and deconvolution methods. The profiles obtained for the G1 copolymer are consistent with a well-defined PS core–dPEO shell morphology, only observed previously for upper generation (G4) polymers with deuterated PS (dPS) chains grafted randomly on arborescent PS substrates. Detailed morphological analysis could not be carried out for an analogous G3 arborescent PS copolymer terminally grafted with dPEO segments due to extensive aggregation in both solvents.     

Onset of a transverse dynamics in the THz spectrum of water

This paper reports on a high resolution/high contrast measurement of the spectrum of heavy water achieved by two complementary techniques, Inelastic Neutron and X-Ray Scattering. The mutual consistency between the spectral shapes measured by the two methods is subjected to thorough scrutiny and the results of their combined best fit are discussed. In particular, the presence of a low frequency mode related to shear propagation is studied in connection with the structural relaxation active in water at lower frequencies. The best fit analysis leads to the conclusion that the onset of a shear mode can only be observed at timescales approaching the solid-like regime, i.e. before internal rearrangements of the structure are fully accomplished. Finally, it is shown that the lifetime of the low frequency mode is fully consistent with the one predicted for a shear wave approaching the macroscopic limit.