Developmental anatomy of the thalamus, perinatal lesions, and neurological development.

The thalamic nuclei develop before a viable preterm age. GABAergic neuronal migration is especially active in the third trimester. Thalamic axons meet cortical axons during subplate activation and create the definitive cortical plate in the second and third trimesters.

Underground radioactivity measurements of meteorites: Development of methods suitable to determine precise terrestrial age of recent falls.

The L6 chondritic meteorite, HaH-346, fell in Libya. However, neither the exact date of the fall nor the exact size of the original meteoroid or asteroid is known. A specimen of the meteorite, weighing 488 g, was measured using ultra low-background gamma-ray spectrometry in the 225 m deep underground facility HADES.

Evaluation of a proficiency test of I, Cs and Cs in maize powder.

In 2017, JRC-Geel organised a proficiency test for 120 participants on the massic activity determination of I, Cs and Cs in maize powder. The proficiency test reference material was produced by spiking blank maize powder. The material was characterised for its radioactive content using γ-ray spectrometry.

Characterization of 30 Ge enriched Broad Energy Ge detectors for GERDA Phase II.

The GERmanium Detector Array (Gerda) is a low background experiment located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy, which searches for neutrinoless double-beta decay of Ge into Se+2e . Gerda has been conceived in two phases. Phase II, which started in December 2015, features several novelties including 30 new Ge enriched detectors.

Evaluation of a radon-in-water pilot-proficiency test.

A pilot proficiency test (PT) on measurements of the massic activity of Rn in drinking water was organised by JRC-Geel. Fourteen environmental radioactivity monitoring laboratories were invited to participate. The key aim of the study was to test, optimise and stream-line the complete process for conducting such a PT in order to perform a large scale Europe-wide PT in a robust manner.