Measurements of thermal-neutron capture cross-section of Cesium-135 by applying mass spectrometry

ABSTRACT

The thermal-neutron capture cross-section (σ₀) and resonance integral (I₀) were measured for the ¹³⁵Cs(n,γ)¹³⁶Cs reaction by an activation method and mass spectrometry. Because of difficulty in the preparation of pure ¹³⁵Cs samples, we used ¹³⁵Cs contained as an impurity in a normally available ¹³⁷Cs standard solution. An isotope ratio of ¹³⁵Cs and ¹³⁷Cs in a standard ¹³⁷Cs solution was measured by mass spectrometry to quantify ¹³⁵Cs. Cesium-135 impurity along with the ¹³⁷Cs standard solution was irradiated at the hydraulic conveyer of the research reactor in the Institute for Integral Radiation and Nuclear Science, Kyoto University. Wires of Co/Al and Au/Al alloys were used as neutron monitors to measure thermal-neutron fluxes and epi-thermal Westcott’s indices at an irradiation position. A gadolinium filter was used to measure the σ₀, and a value of 0.133 eV was taken as the cut-off energy. Gamma-ray spectroscopy was used to measure induced activities of ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³⁶Cs and monitor wires. On the basis of Westcott’s convention, the σ₀ and I₀ values were derived as 8.57 ± 0.25 barn, and 45.3 ± 3.2 barn, respectively. The value of σ₀ obtained in the present study agreed within the limits of uncertainties with the past-reported value of 8.3 ± 0.3 barn.     

4-O-Methylascochlorin-Mediated BNIP-3 Expression Controls the Balance of Apoptosis and Autophagy in Cervical Carcinoma Cells

4-O-methylascochlorin (MAC) is a 4-fourth carbon-substituted derivative of ascochlorin, a compound extracted from a phytopathogenic fungus Ascochyta viciae. MAC induces apoptosis and autophagy in various cancer cells, but the effects of MAC on apoptosis and autophagy in cervical cancer cells, as well as how the interaction between apoptosis and autophagy mediates the cellular anticancer effects are not known. Here, we investigated that MAC induced apoptotic cell death of cervical cancer cells without regulating the cell cycle and promoted autophagy by inhibiting the phosphorylation of serine-threonine kinase B (Akt), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and 70-kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70S6K). Additional investigations suggested that Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa protein-interacting protein 3 (BNIP-3), but not Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α), is a key regulator of MAC-induced apoptosis and autophagy. BNIP-3 siRNA suppressed MAC-induced increases in cleaved- poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and LC3II expression. The pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK suppressed MAC-induced cell death and enhanced MAC-induced autophagy. The autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) enhanced MAC-mediated cell death by increasing BNIP-3 expression. These results indicate that MAC induces apoptosis to promote cell death and stimulates autophagy to promote cell survival by increasing BNIP-3 expression. This study also showed that co-treatment of cells with MAC and CQ further enhanced the death of cervical cancer cells.     

Long Preservation of AAV-Transduced Fluorescence by a Modified Organic Solvent-Based Clearing Method

The development of tissue clearing technologies allows 3D imaging of whole tissues and organs, especially in studies of the central nervous system innervated throughout the body. Although the three-dimensional imaging of solvent-cleared organs (3DISCO) method provides a powerful clearing capacity and high transparency, the rapid quenching of endogenous fluorescence and peroxide removal process decreases its practicability. This study provides a modified method named tDISCO to solve these limitations. The tDISCO protocol can preserve AAV-transduced endogenous EGFP fluorescence for months and achieve high transparency in a fast and simple clearing process. In addition to the brain, tDISCO was applied to other organs and even hard bone tissue. tDISCO also enabled us to visualize the long projection neurons and axons with high resolution. This method provides a fast and simple clearing protocol for 3D visualization of the AAV- transduced long projection neurons throughout the brain and spinal cord.     

Current status of researches on the plutonium rock-like oxide fuel and its burning in light water reactors

Intention of the ROX-LWR system research is to provide an option for utilization or disposition of surplus plutonium. Researches on inert matrix materials and irradiation performance shows that the most favorable candidate for the ROX fuel is a particle dispersed fuel where small particles consisted of yttria stabilized zirconia, PuO₂ and some additives are homogeneously dispersed in spinel matrix. Reactor safety analyses show that the ROX fueled PWR core has nearly the same performability as the existing UO₂ fueled PWR under both reactivity initiated accidents and loss of coolant accidents.     

确定分形函数的局部奇异性指数及其谱

基于配分函数的多分形形式仅仅提供了信号奇异性指数的全局描述,并没有给出局部信息,然而在实际应用中,揭示出信号的局部奇异性信息往往更具有重要性。该文提出了一种确定信号局部奇异性指数的新算法,构造了一种类似于奇异性谱的直方图,并用来描述信号奇异性的全局统计分布。数字试验验证了该算法的有效性。     

Maresin-1 and Inflammatory Disease

Inflammation is an essential action to protect the host human body from external, harmful antigens and microorganisms. However, an excessive inflammation reaction sometimes exceeds tissue damage and can disrupt organ functions. Therefore, anti-inflammatory action and resolution mechanisms need to be clarified. Dietary foods are an essential daily lifestyle that influences various human physiological processes and pathological conditions. Especially, omega-3 fatty acids in the diet ameliorate chronic inflammatory skin diseases. Recent studies have identified that omega-3 fatty acid derivatives, such as the resolvin series, showed strong anti-inflammatory actions in various inflammatory diseases. Maresin-1 is a derivative of one of the representative omega-3 fatty acids, i.e., docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and has shown beneficial action in inflammatory disease models. In this review, we summarize the detailed actions of maresin-1 in immune cells and inflammatory diseases.     

Advances in the Therapeutic Effects of Apoptotic Bodies on Systemic Diseases

Apoptosis plays an important role in development and in the maintenance of homeostasis. Apoptotic bodies (ApoBDs) are specifically generated from apoptotic cells and can contain a large variety of biological molecules, which are of great significance in intercellular communications and the regulation of phagocytes. Emerging evidence in recent years has shown that ApoBDs are essential for maintaining homeostasis, including systemic bone density and immune regulation as well as tissue regeneration. Moreover, studies have revealed the therapeutic effects of ApoBDs on systemic diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, hepatic fibrosis, and wound healing, which can be used to treat potential targets. This review summarizes current research on the generation, application, and reconstruction of ApoBDs regarding their functions in cellular regulation and on systemic diseases, providing strong evidence and therapeutic strategies for further insights into related diseases.     

Properties of Starch Films and their Improvement

The tensile strengths and elongations of starch films prepared from various unmodified and modified starches were measured. These properties were improved by addition of urea and polyvinyl alcohol to the starch paste. The results obtained were as follows.

• 1 The heating temperature greatly affected the tensile strength and elongation of various unmodified starches. Potato starch gave the best film.
• 2 Introduction of hydroxyethyl groups into corn starch had unexpectedly little affect on the properties of the films.
• 3 A combination of hydroxyethylation and acid-modification slightly improved the properties of the films.
• 4 No film could be obtained after combinations of hydroxyethylation and hypochlorite-oxidation, pyrodextrinization or α-amylase-dextrinization. However, addition of urea to these modified starches resulted in good films.
• 5 On addition of urea the elongation of starch films increased and the pastes adhered uniformly to water repellent surfaces.
• 6 A film with the best properties was prepared from a mixture of 67% acid-modified hydroxyethyl starch, 13% urea and 20% polyvinyl alcohol.

     

Studies on the Structure of Leguminosae Starches. 1. Solubility in Dimethyl Sulfoxide and by Enzymatic Action

In order to elucidate the granular structure of the leguminous starches the speed of solubilization of several starches was determined by digestion with dimethyl sulfoxide and with α-amylase. By microscopic investigations with normal and polarized light different forms of erosion were observed in the different starches, all of them less intense than those observed in cereal starches. It was concluded that the starch granules of mucunã seeds are the most homogeneous and have the least porous structure, followed by chick pea, jack, lablab and guanda beans. It is supposed that maturation, climate and soil influence the cristallinity of the granules, resulting in different digestibility.