Search for Na in novae supported by a novel method for measuring femtosecond nuclear lifetimes.

Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions in stellar binary systems, and important sources of Al and Na. While γ rays from the decay of the former radioisotope have been observed throughout the Galaxy, Na remains untraceable. Its half-life (2.

Phosphorylation of gH2AX as a novel prognostic biomarker for laryngoesophageal dysfunction-free survival.

Current larynx preservation treatments have achieved an improvement of laryngoesophageal dysfunction-free survival (LDS) but lead to significant toxicities and recurrences. At present, there is no evidence to select the group of patients that may benefit from preservation approaches instead of surgery. Therefore, laryngeal biomarkers could facilitate pretreatment identification of patients who could respond to chemoradiation-based therapy.

Effects of gamma radiation on the biological, physico-chemical, nutritional and antioxidant parameters of chestnuts - a review.

Gamma radiation has been used as a post-harvest food preservation process for many years. Chestnuts are a seasonal product consumed fresh or processed, and gamma irradiation emerged recently as a possible alternative technology for their post-harvest processing, to fulfil the requirements of international phytosanitary trade laws. After harvest and storage, several problems may occur, such as the presence of infestations and development of microorganisms, namely rotting and fungi.

Low-cost pulsatile cardiac assist device with compliant input chamber.

We propose a new, low-cost pulsatile ventricular assist device (VAD) for short-term applications. The new device could prove very useful in emergency ventricular failure in which patient survival is not assured. In these cases, the device allows ventricular function to be maintained as the patient's situation is evaluated and a decision is made on whether to perform a heart transplant or to replace the device with a long-term VAD.

Sedimentation rates and trace metal input history in intertidal sediments from San Simón Bay (Ría de Vigo, NW Spain) derived from 210Pb and 137Cs chronology.

(210)Pb and (137)Cs dating methods, accompanied by a high-resolution geochemical study, were applied to intertidal sediments containing both fine and coarse-grained particles and also, anthropogenic Pb in order to establish sedimentation rates and historical trends in heavy metal input. Sedimentation rates were established according to the "Constant Flux:Constant Sedimentation" (CF:CS) (210)Pb dating model, which was preferred rather than the "Constant Rate of Supply-Minimum Variance" (CRS-MV) model. Variations in sediment grain-size were accounted for by application of several normalization procedures.