Microscopic Description of 2α Decay in ^{212}Po and ^{224}Ra Isotopes.

A microscopic calculation of half-lives for both the α and 2α decays of ^{212}Po and ^{224}Ra is performed, using a self-consistent framework based on energy density functionals. A relativistic density functional and a separable pairing interaction of finite range are used to compute axially symmetric deformation energy surfaces as functions of quadrupole, octupole, and hexadecapole collective coordinates. Dynamical least-action paths are determined, that trace the α and 2α emission from the equilibrium deformation to the point of scission.

Taming Nuclear Complexity with a Committee of Multilayer Neural Networks.

We demonstrate that a committee of deep neural networks is capable of predicting the ground-state and excited energies of more than 1800 atomic nuclei with an accuracy akin to the one achieved by state-of-the-art nuclear energy density functionals (EDFs) and with significantly less computational cost. An active learning strategy is proposed to train this algorithm with a minimal set of 210 nuclei. This approach enables future fast studies of the influence of EDF parametrizations on structure properties over the whole nuclear chart and suggests that for the first time a machine learning framework successfully encoded several correlated aspects of nuclear deformation.

VEGFA variants as prognostic markers for the retinopathy in pseudoxanthoma elasticum.

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a rare autosomal recessive ectopic mineralization disorder, characterized by skin, eye and cardiovascular symptoms. The most devastating ocular complication is choroidal neovascularization, which is thought to be mediated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling, a molecule encoded by the VEGFA gene. As early detection and treatment is essential to preserve vision, prioritization of patients at risk is crucial, but impossible because of wide phenotypic variability and a lack of genotype-phenotype correlations for PXE.

A study of optic nerve head drusen in 38 pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) patients (64 eyes). Location of optic nerve head drusen in PXE.

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence and location of optic nerve head drusen and their potential association with other PXE-related ophthalmic abnormalities.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-eight of the 155 patients (57 male and 98 female aged 49±17 years) included in this retrospective study had optic nerve head drusen. All of the patients underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination, including color images using red-free, blue and red filters, autofluorescence imaging and late-phase ICG frames.