Radiological Analyses of Ra and U in Surface Water and Sediments from the Jackpile Member of the Morrison Formation, Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico.

Surface water and sediments from the Jackpile mine, St. Anthony mine, Rio Paguate, Rio Moquino, and Mesita Dam areas near Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico, were analyzed for Ra and U using gamma (γ) spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy, respectively. Activity ratios for Ra/U for solid samples range from 0.

Multiscale analysis of Benjamin Franklin's innovations in American paper money.

Benjamin Franklin was a preeminent proponent of the new colonial and Continental paper monetary system in 18th-century America. He established a network of printers, designing and printing money notes at the same time. Franklin recognized the necessity of paper money in breaking American dependence on the British trading system, and he helped print Continental money to finance the American War of Independence.

Hyperstoichiometric Uranium Dioxides: Rapid Synthesis and Irradiation-Induced Structural Changes.

Uranium dioxide (UO), the primary fuel for commercial nuclear reactors, incorporates excess oxygen forming a series of hyperstoichiometric oxides. Thin layers of these oxides, such as UO, form readily on the fuel surface and influence its properties, performance, and potentially geologic disposal. This work reports a rapid and straightforward combustion process in solutions to prepare UO nanomaterials and thin films.

Irradiation-Driven Restructuring of UO Thin Films: Amorphization and Crystallization.

Combustion synthesis in uranyl nitrate-acetylacetone-2-methoxyethanol solutions was used to deposit thin UO films on aluminum substrates to investigate the irradiation-induced restructuring processes. Thermal analysis revealed that the combustion reactions in these solutions are initiated at ∼160 °C. The heat released during the process and the subsequent brief annealing at 400 °C allow the deposition of polycrystalline films with 5-10 nm UO grains.

Erratum: Precision Mass Measurements on Neutron-Rich Rare-Earth Isotopes at JYFLTRAP: Reduced Neutron Pairing and Implications for r-Process Calculations [Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 262701 (2018)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.

Irradiation-induced reactions at the CeO/SiO/Si interface.

The influence of high-energy (1.6 MeV) Ar irradiation on the interfacial interaction between cerium oxide thin films (∼15 nm) with a SiO/Si substrate is investigated using transmission electron microscopy, ultrahigh vacuum x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and a carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation catalytic reaction using ambient pressure XPS. The combination of these methods allows probing the dynamics of vacancy generation and its relation to chemical interactions at the CeO/SiO/Si interface.

Precision Mass Measurements of Neutron-Rich Neodymium and Samarium Isotopes and Their Role in Understanding Rare-Earth Peak Formation.

The Canadian Penning Trap mass spectrometer at the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) facility was used to measure the masses of eight neutron-rich isotopes of Nd and Sm. These measurements are the first to push into the region of nuclear masses relevant to the formation of the rare-earth abundance peak at A∼165 by the rapid neutron-capture process. We compare our results with theoretical predictions obtained from "reverse engineering" the mass surface that best reproduces the observed solar abundances in this region through a Markov chain Monte Carlo technique.

Precision Mass Measurements on Neutron-Rich Rare-Earth Isotopes at JYFLTRAP: Reduced Neutron Pairing and Implications for r-Process Calculations.

The rare-earth peak in the r-process abundance pattern depends sensitively on both the astrophysical conditions and subtle changes in nuclear structure in the region. This work takes an important step towards elucidating the nuclear structure and reducing the uncertainties in r-process calculations via precise atomic mass measurements at the JYFLTRAP double Penning trap. ^{158}Nd, ^{160}Pm, ^{162}Sm, and ^{164-166}Gd have been measured for the first time, and the precisions for ^{156}Nd, ^{158}Pm, ^{162,163}Eu, ^{163}Gd, and ^{164}Tb have been improved considerably.

[Postnatal diagnosis of gastric volvulus revealing congenital diaphragmatic hernia].

Postnatally diagnosed congenital diaphragmatic hernias (CDH) are rare and have a better prognosis than those diagnosed prenatally. Postnatal symptoms can be respiratory, digestive, or mixed. Gastric volvulus can reveal CDH.

Irradiation-enhanced reactivity of multilayer Al/Ni nanomaterials.

We have investigated the effect of accelerated ion beam irradiation on the structure and reactivity of multilayer sputter deposited Al/Ni nanomaterials. Carbon and aluminum ion beams with different charge states and intensities were used to irradiate the multilayer materials. The conditions for the irradiation-assisted self-ignition of the reactive materials and corresponding ignition thresholds for the beam intensities were determined.

Determining the rp-process flow through 56Ni: resonances in 57Cu(p,γ)58Zn identified with GRETINA.

An approach is presented to experimentally constrain previously unreachable (p, γ) reaction rates on nuclei far from stability in the astrophysical rp process. Energies of all critical resonances in the (57)Cu(p,γ)(58)Zn reaction are deduced by populating states in (58)Zn with a (d, n) reaction in inverse kinematics at 75 MeV/u, and detecting γ-ray-recoil coincidences with the state-of-the-art γ-ray tracking array GRETINA and the S800 spectrograph at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The results reduce the uncertainty in the (57)Cu(p,γ) reaction rate by several orders of magnitude.

[Unusual presentation of rib malformation].

Rib malformation and anatomical variations are not well known and are still often underdiagnosed. Usually, rib malformations are fortuitously discovered. We describe here the case of a girl, 4 years and 4 months old, who presented at the emergency unit for fever and an anterior tumefaction of the ribcage, without any other symptoms.

[Minoxidil intoxication, the pharmacological agent of a hair lotion].

Accidental intoxications in children are frequent but most of them are without serious consequences. We describe herein the case of a young girl who drank 100 mg of a topical hair lotion with minoxidil. On arrival, she had no symptoms except flush on the face and ears.

[Childhood medulloblastoma].

Medulloblastoma is one of the most common malignant childhood brain tumors. It is a primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) and predominantly arises in the cerebellum and 4th ventricle. Most cases of medulloblastoma are sporadic, but some predisposition syndromes are known, such as SUFU and Gorlin syndromes.

Doppler shift as a tool for studies of isobaric analog states of neutron-rich nuclei: application to 7He.

We have developed a new technique to study exotic neutron-rich nuclei via their isobaric analog states (IAS). We populate high-isospin states in resonant reactions of radioactive ion beams with protons. Characteristic gamma rays emitted from excited decay products were used to identify the population of the IAS.

Half-life of the doubly magic r-process nucleus 78Ni.

Nuclei with magic numbers serve as important benchmarks in nuclear theory. In addition, neutron-rich nuclei play an important role in the astrophysical rapid neutron-capture process (r process). 78Ni is the only doubly magic nucleus that is also an important waiting point in the r process, and serves as a major bottleneck in the synthesis of heavier elements.

Analog states of 7He observed via the 6He(p,n) reaction.

Isobaric analog states of 7He have been investigated by a novel technique involving the observation of the resonant yield of neutrons from the 6He(p,n) reaction in coincidence with gamma rays from the decay of the (0(+),T=1) state in 6Li. The gamma rays provide a clean signature for the isospin-conserving neutron decay of the low-lying isobaric analog resonances. It is conclusively shown that the analog of the recently observed low-lying spin-orbit partner of the 7He ground state does not exist.

End point of the rp process on accreting neutron stars.

We calculate the rapid proton ( rp) capture process of hydrogen burning on the surface of an accreting neutron star with an updated reaction network that extends up to Xe, far beyond previous work. In both steady-state nuclear burning appropriate for rapidly accreting neutron stars (such as the magnetic polar caps of accreting x-ray pulsars) and unstable burning of type I x-ray bursts, we find that the rp process ends in a closed SnSbTe cycle. This prevents the synthesis of elements heavier than Te and has important consequences for x-ray burst profiles, the composition of accreting neutron stars, and potentially galactic nucleosynthesis of light p nuclei.

Compliance with outpatient follow-up recommendations for infants at risk for retinopathy of prematurity.

Objectives: We undertook this study to determine how frequently at-risk infants were scheduled for and brought to follow-up appointments for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) examination after hospital discharge and to identify barriers to follow-up.

Methods: The records of 126 infants with or at risk for ROP at the time of hospital discharge were retrospectively reviewed. Data recorded included the presence or absence of a timely outpatient follow-up appointment, the identity of the person who scheduled the appointment (hospital staff or parents), attendance rate for appointments made, race or ethnicity, and insurance status.

Half-life measurement for the rp-process waiting point nuclide 80Zr.

X-ray bursts have been suggested as a possible site for the astrophysical rp-process. The time scale for the process is governed by beta-decay half-lives of several even-even N = Z waiting point nuclei, in particular, N = Z = 40 80Zr. A 4.

Lifetime Measurements in (178)Hf.

Lifetimes of levels from K(π) = 2(+), K(π) = 4(+) and several K(π) = 0(+) bands have been measured in the (178)Hf nucleus using the GRID technique. Lifetimes of the 2(+) and 3(+) levels were measured within the K(π) = 2(+) γ band. A lower limit was established for the lifetime of the 4(+) level of the K(π) = 4(+) band.

Low-Spin States From Decay Studies in the Mass 80 Region.

Neutron-deficient nuclei in the mass 80 region are known to exhibit strongly deformed ground states deduced mainly from yrast-state properties measured in-beam via heavy-ion fusion-evaporation reactions. Vibrational excitations and non-yrast states as well as their interplay with the observed rotational collectivity have been less studied to date within this mass region. Thus, several β-decay experiments have been performed to populate low-spin states in the neutron-deficient (80,84)Y and (80,84)Sr nuclei.