Langmuir films of polycyclic molecules on mercury

Langmuir films (LFs) of biphenyl and anthracene derivatives on the surface of liquid mercury were studied by surface-specific X-ray and surface tension measurements. Phases of lying-down, side-lying and standing-up molecules were found, some of which exhibit long-range lateral order. The molecular symmetry and the position and nature of the side-, end-, and headgroups are shown to dominate the structural evolution of the LFs with surface coverage.     

Drug self-assembly: A phenomenon at the nanometer scale with major impact in the structure–biological properties relationship and the treatment of disease

Under water-rich conditions, small amphiphilic and hydrophobic drug molecules self-assemble into supramolecular nanostructures. Thus, substantial modifications in their interaction with cellular structures and the ability to reach intracellular targets could happen. Additionally, drug aggregates could be more toxic than the non-aggregated counterparts, or vice versa. Moreover, since self-aggregation reduces the number of effective “monomeric” molecules that interact with the target, the drug potency could be underestimated. In other cases, the activity could be ascribed to the non-aggregated molecule while it stems from its aggregates. Thus, drug self-assembly could mislead from drug throughput screening assays to advanced preclinical and clinical trials. Finally, aggregates could serve as crystallization nuclei. The impact that this phenomenon has on the biological performance of active compounds, the inconsistent and often controversial nature of the published data and the need for recommendations/guidelines as preamble of more harmonized research protocols to characterize drug self-aggregation were main motivations for this review. First, the key molecular and environmental parameters governing drug self-aggregation, the main drug families for which this phenomenon and the methods used for its characterization are described. Then, promising nanotechnology platforms investigated to prevent/control it towards a more efficient drug development process are briefly discussed.     

An X-ray beam position monitor based on the photoluminescence of helium gas

A new method for white beam position monitoring for both bend magnet and wiggler synchrotron X-ray radiation has been developed. This method utilizes visible light luminescence generated as a result of ionization by the intense X-ray flux. In video beam position monitors (VBPMs), the luminescence of helium gas at atmospheric pressure is observed through a view port using a CCD camera next to the beam line. The beam position, profile, integrated intensity and FWHM are calculated from the distribution of luminescence intensity in each captured image by custom software. Misalignment of upstream apertures changes the image profile making VBPMs helpful for initial alignment of upstream beam line components. VBPMs can thus provide more information about the X-ray beam than most beam position monitors (BPMs). A beam position calibration procedure, employing a tilted plane-parallel glass plate placed in front of the camera lens, has also been developed. The accuracy of the VBPM system was measured during a bench-top experiment to be better than 1 μm. The He-luminescence-based VBPM system has been operative on three CHESS beam lines (F hard-bend and wiggler, A-line wiggler and G-line wiggler) for about a year. The beam positions are converted to analog voltages and used as feedback signals for beam stabilization. In our paper we discuss details of VBPM construction and describe further results of its performance.     

低剂量X射线全身照射对小鼠脾细胞糖皮质激素受体表？…

采用放射性配体结合法,观察了不同低剂量Ｘ射线全身照射对小鼠脾细胞糖皮质激素受体（ＧＣＲ）表达的影响及７５ｍＧｙ全身照射后ＧＣＲ表达的时程变化。结果显示,２５、５０、７５ｍＧｙＸ射线全身照射后８ｈ小鼠脾细胞ＧＣＲ表达明显下降;７５ｍＧｙＸ射线全身照射后４ｈＧＣＲ表达开始下降,８ｈＧＣＲ表达显著低于对照组。低剂量Ｘ射线全身照射可降低小鼠脾细胞ＧＣＲ的表达,提示ＧＣＲ表达下调可能在低剂量辐射免疫增强效应     

一种应用于MCA中的高速高精度峰值保持器PKD01

高性能峰值保持在核脉冲信号处理过程中具有重要的意义。结合实际x射线探测器输出脉冲特点,利用了一种运用跨导型运算放大器PKD01峰值保持芯片,该芯片具有通频带宽、响应速度快、峰值保持精度高、线性好等一系列优点,经过实际测量,可以准确的对脉冲信号进行峰值保持。     

Semi-automatic computer aided lesion detection in dental X-rays using variational level set

A semi-automatic lesion detection framework is proposed to detect areas of lesions from periapical dental X-rays using level set method. In this framework, first, a new proposed competitive coupled level set method is used to segment the image into three pathologically meaningful regions using two coupled level set functions. Tailored for the dental clinical setting, a two-stage clinical segmentation acceleration scheme is used. The method uses a trained support vector machine (SVM) classifier to provide an initial contour for two coupled level sets. Then, based on the segmentation results, an analysis scheme is applied. Firstly, the scheme builds an uncertainty map from which those areas with radiolucent will be automatically emphasized by a proposed color emphasis scheme. Those radiolucent in the teeth or jaw usually suggested possible lesions. Secondly, the scheme employs a method based on the average intensity profile to isolate the teeth and locate two types of lesions: periapical lesion (PL) and bifurcation lesion (BL). Experimental results show that our proposed segmentation method is able to segment the image into pathological meaningful regions for further analysis; our proposed framework is able to automatically provide direct visual cues for the lesion detection; and when given the orientation of the teeth, it is able to automatically locate the PL and BL with a seriousness level marked for further dental diagnosis. When used in the clinical setting, the framework enables dentist to improve interpretation and to focus their attention on critical areas.     

同步辐射硬X射线微束技术

同步辐射硬X射线微束(微探针)技术是目前很多学科领域的主流分析技术,本文介绍了同步辐射硬X射线的各种微束技术以及微束的应用研究情况,阐述了各种微束技术的基本聚焦原理,并对其优势和不足以及发展状况作了简要的概述.     

真空灭弧室中X射线对人体健康的影响

一般认为,在进行真空灭弧室的出厂耐压试验时不会产生危及人体健康的X射线,但这忽略了两个非常重要的因素,即过小的开距和较高的外施电压。为深入了解X射线对高压试验人员的影响,在不同情况下进行一系列模拟加压试验,并对生产线上大量真空灭弧室进行X射线释放量的监测,发现在高电压老炼过程中会释放出高水平的X射线,无论瞬时量还是累计量都已经远远超过标准中规定的要求。因此,在从事该项工作时,采取适当的防范措施是十分必要的。     

X-ray Compton scattering tomography

We lay the foundations for a new fast method to reconstruct the electron density in X-ray scanning applications using measurements in the dark field. This approach is applied to a type of machine configuration with fixed energy sensitive (or resolving) detectors, and where the X-ray source is polychromatic. We consider the case where the measurements in the dark field are dominated by the Compton scattering process. This leads us to a 2D inverse problem where we aim to reconstruct an electron density slice from its integrals over discs whose boundaries intersect the given source point. We show that a unique solution exists for smooth densities compactly supported on an annulus centred at the source point. Using Sobolev space estimates, we determine a measure for the ill posedness of our problem based on the criterion given by Natterer ("The mathematics of computerized tomography" SIAM 2001). In addition, with a combination of our method and the more common attenuation coefficient reconstruction, we show under certain assumptions that the atomic number of the target is uniquely determined. We test our method on simulated data-sets with varying levels of added pseudo random noise.     

Exploring minimal scenarios to produce transversely bright electron beams using the eigen-emittance concept

Next generation hard X-ray free electron lasers require electron beams with low transverse emittance. One proposal to achieve these low emittances is to exploit the eigen-emittance values of the beam. The eigen-emittances are invariant under linear beam transport and equivalent to the emittances in an uncorrelated beam. If a correlated beam with two small eigen-emittances can be produced, removal of the correlations via appropriate optics will lead to two small emittance values, provided non-linear effects are not too large. We study how such a beam may be produced using minimal linear correlations. We find it is theoretically possible to produce such a beam, however, it may be more difficult to realize in practice. We identify linear correlations that may lead to physically realizable emittance schemes and discuss promising future avenues.