Determination of the uranium enrichment with the NaIGEM code

The traditional method used to non-destructively determine the uranium enrichment with an NaI detector is based on the “enrichment meter principle” (Progress report LA-4605-MS, Los Alamos National Laboratory, NNM, 1970, p. 19), which involves measuring the intensity of the 186 keV line of ²³⁵U by selecting two regions of interest for the peak and the background. This type of method suffers from several limitations, the most limiting of which are the impossibility to make wall thickness correction or to take the inference of foreign radioisotopes into account. The NaIGEM software (A guide for using NaIGEM code, version 1.5 for DOS and Windows, 2001; Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 458 (2001) 196) was developed to overcome these limitations by calculating the 186 keV line intensity with a fitting procedure. The code was tested in different measurement conditions on the wide variety of certified samples, in particular, on reprocessed uranium and on depleted material with thick steel filters interposed between the source and the detector. The results are presented to illustrate the performance and limitations of the tested version (A guide for using NaIGEM code, version 1.5 for DOS and Windows, 2001). The general performance is good except in the case of low-enriched uranium in thick containers.     

High-Tc dc-SQUID magnetometer and its application in eddy current non-destructive evaluation

We have fabricated and tested a high-T_c dc-SQUID magnetometer patterned on a YBCO thin film deposited on a SrTiO₃ bicrystal substrate. The measurement of noise spectrum at 77 K showed that the magnetometer has a white noise of 333 fT/Hz^1/2 without superconducting shield, corresponding to a flux sensitivity of 14.5 μΦ₀/Hz^1/2. We constructed a test system for eddy current non-destructive evaluation of conducting aluminum plates by using the magnetometer. Flaws over 10 mm below the surface can be clearly identified. By mapping the magnetic field distribution, we can locate the flaw position. The signals caused by flaw were expanded due to the use of double-D type driving coil with a wider central slit. The experimental results confirmed that this test system could operate in a magnetic unshielded environment.     

Non-destructive testing of rock bolts using guided ultrasonic waves

The research outlined in this paper is aimed at the development of a portable non-destructive testing instrument for evaluating the condition of rock bolts. In applications such as coal mine roof reinforcement, the opportunities for rock bolt inspection are currently limited to destructive techniques such as the pull-out test. It is proposed that guided ultrasonic waves can be used to solve this inspection problem, using a pulse-echo test carried out from the free end of the bolt. Suitable test frequencies have been identified through the use of modelling software, and successful laboratory and site trials have been undertaken. The research has shown that the proposed approach is capable of determining the bolt length, and of identifying major defects such as necking, deformation, and loss of resin encapsulation.     

Efficacy and Safety Evaluation of Ozonation to Degrade Aflatoxin in Corn

ABSTRACT: This study determined the efficacy and safety of ozonation in degrading aflatoxin in corn. Ozonation (10 to 12 wt%) reduced aflatoxin levels by 92% and no reversion to the parent compound was observed. Ozonation had minimal effect on fatty acids of uncontaminated corn, but had significant effect on fatty acids of contaminated corn. Crude extracts showed no mutagenic potential in the Ames assay using TA98 and TA100. Clean-up using hexane increased their mutagenic potentials. Clean-up using Mycosep columns increased the mutagenic potentials 18 to 617%. Hexane extracts from ozone-treated contaminated corn had lower inhibitory effect. This suggested that a fat-soluble mutagen is being formed or natural inhibitors of mutagenicity are being destroyed.     

The Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane Model: A New In Vivo Tool to Evaluate Breast Cancer Stem Cell Activity

The high plasticity of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) allows them to differentiate and proliferate, specifically when xenotransplanted subcutaneously into immunocompromised mice. CSCs are highly tumorigenic, even when inoculated in small numbers. Thus, in vivo limiting dilution assays (LDA) in mice are the current gold standard method to evaluate CSC enrichment and activity. The chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a low cost, naturally immune-incompetent and reproducible model widely used to evaluate the spontaneous growth of human tumor cells. Here, we established a CAM-LDA assay able to rapidly reproduce tumor specificities—in particular, the ability of the small population of CSCs to form tumors. We used a panel of organotropic metastatic breast cancer cells, which show an enrichment in a stem cell gene signature, enhanced CD44⁺/CD24^−/low cell surface expression and increased mammosphere-forming efficiency (MFE). The size of CAM-xenografted tumors correlate with the number of inoculated cancer cells, following mice xenograft growth pattern. CAM and mice tumors are histologically comparable, displaying both breast CSC markers CD44 and CD49f. Therefore, we propose a new tool for studying CSC prevalence and function—the chick CAM-LDA—a model with easy handling, accessibility, rapid growth and the absence of ethical and regulatory constraints.     

Molecular Docking Studies and Biological Evaluation of Berberine–Benzothiazole Derivatives as an Anti-Influenza Agent via Blocking of Neuraminidase

In this study, we have introduced newly synthesized substituted benzothiazole based berberine derivatives that have been analyzed for their in vitro and in silico biological properties. The activity towards various kinds of influenza virus strains by employing the cytopathic effect (CPE) and sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Several berberine–benzothiazole derivatives (BBDs), such as BBD1, BBD3, BBD4, BBD5, BBD7, and BBD11, demonstrated interesting anti-influenza virus activity on influenza A viruses (A/PR/8/34, A/Vic/3/75) and influenza B viral (B/Lee/40, and B/Maryland/1/59) strain, respectively. Furthermore, by testing neuraminidase activity (NA) with the neuraminidase assay kit, it was identified that BBD7 has potent neuraminidase activity. The molecular docking analysis further suggests that the BBD1–BBD14 compounds’ antiviral activity may be because of interaction with residues of NA, and the same as in oseltamivir.     

Screening of Inhibitors Targeting Heat Shock Protein 47 Involved in the Development of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Heat shock protein 47 (HSP47), a collagen-specific molecular chaperone, is causally related to fibrotic diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The identification of Compounds that interfere with the HSP47-collagen interaction is essential for the development of relevant therapeutics. Herein, we prepared human HSP47 as a soluble fusion protein expressed in E. coli and established an assay system for HSP47 inhibitor screening. We screened a natural and synthetic Compound library established at Nagasaki University. Among 1023 Compounds, 13 exhibited inhibitory activity against human HSP47, of which three inhibited its function in a dose-dependent manner. Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate, one of these three Compounds, is a typical polyphenol Compound derived from tea leaves. Structurally related Compounds were synthesized and examined for their activity, revealing a hydroxyl group at A-ring position 5 as important for its activity. The present findings provide valuable insight for the development of natural product-derived therapeutics for fibrotic diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.     

应用免疫印迹法分析丙型肝炎相关性抗体

应用两种免疫印迹法对二代ELISA测试的69份血清进行了追加试验。结果表明:8份ELISA阴性血清免疫印迹均阴性,61份ELISA阳性血清有1份免疫印迹阴性。ELISA假阳性率为1.67％。在60份免疫印迹阳性血清中,抗结构区(capsid),非结构区NS_3和NS_4抗体的阳性率分别为83％、93.3％和70％。其中丙型肝炎相关性抗体的分布,以抗capsid、NS_3、NS_4抗体都阳性为主(58.7％)。在输血后急性肝炎和肝细胞癌患者中。丙型肝炎相关性抗体的分布没有统计学上的差异。     

内部连接的球形多孔羟基磷灰石支架的制备

采用高分子模板,通过注浆成型制备了球形孔结构的羟基磷灰石(hroxyapatite,HA)支架,研究了支架的微观结构、压缩强度和相容性.结果表明:改变工艺参数可以控制高分子模板中球体间胶黏面的大小,控制所制备的HA多孔体孔内连接的尺寸.制备的支架具有开口、均匀而内部连通的多孔结构,当孔径为200μm、孔隙率为65%时,压缩强度可达8MPa左右.体外生物模拟实验表明:多孔结构HA支架有很好的相容性.随多孔球体孔隙率和尺寸的增加,支架的细胞吸收率逐步增加.     

布病胶体金免疫层析检测方法的建立

目的建立诊断布病的胶体金免疫层析方法。方法以B.abortus 544A全菌免疫BALB/c小鼠,以杂交瘤细胞技术制备单抗,纯化后以胶体金标记,选择最佳反应模式组装试纸条,并对其进行鉴定。结果已筛选4B8、1G9、1C9和1E24株稳定分泌单抗的细胞株,以其单抗互相配对组合的试纸条均能检出B.abortus 544A菌。其中以1G9为包被抗体、4B8为金标抗体的试纸检测效果最佳,与以B.abortus 544A菌多抗为包被抗体、4B8单抗为金标抗体的试纸对比,检测结果一致,且不与其他菌发生交叉反应。对PCR检测为阳性的70份牛血清样品,两种试纸条检测结果的符合率均为100%。结论所建立的诊断布病的胶体金免疫层析法快速、简便、准确,有望用于布病的诊断。