Production study of Fr, Ra and Ac radioactive ion beams at ISOLDE, CERN.

The presented paper discusses the production of radioactive ion beams of francium, radium, and actinium from thick uranium carbide (UC ) targets at ISOLDE, CERN. This study focuses on the release curves and extractable yields of francium, radium and actinium isotopes. The ion source temperature was varied in order to study the relative contributions of surface and laser ionization to the production of the actinium ion beams.

Multimodal in-vehicle lighting system increases daytime light exposure and alertness in truck drivers under Arctic winter conditions.

Drowsiness while driving negatively impacts road safety, especially in truck drivers. The present study investigated the feasibility and alerting effects of a daylight-supplementing in-truck lighting system (DS) providing short-wavelength enriched light before, during, and after driving. In a within-participants design, eight truck drivers drove a fully-loaded truck under wintry Scandinavian conditions (low daylight levels) with a DS or placebo system for five days.

Target Development towards First Production of High-Molar- Activity Sc and Sc by Mass Separation at CERN-MEDICIS.

The radionuclides Sc, 44g/mSc, and Sc can be produced cost-effectively in sufficient yield for medical research and applications by irradiating natTi and natV target materials with protons. Maximizing the production yield of the therapeutic Sc in the highest cross section energy range of 24-70 MeV results in the co-production of long-lived, high-γ-ray-energy Sc and Sc contaminants if one does not use enriched target materials. Mass separation can be used to obtain high molar activity and isotopically pure Sc radionuclides from natural target materials; however, suitable operational conditions to obtain relevant activity released from irradiated natTi and natV have not yet been established at CERN-MEDICIS and ISOLDE.

Deformation versus Sphericity in the Ground States of the Lightest Gold Isotopes.

The changes in mean-squared charge radii of neutron-deficient gold nuclei have been determined using the in-source, resonance-ionization laser spectroscopy technique, at the ISOLDE facility (CERN). From these new data, nuclear deformations are inferred, revealing a competition between deformed and spherical configurations. The isotopes ^{180,181,182}Au are observed to possess well-deformed ground states and, when moving to lighter masses, a sudden transition to near-spherical shapes is seen in the extremely neutron-deficient nuclides, ^{176,177,179}Au.

Multimode Optical Interconnects on Silicon Interposer Enable Confidential Hardware-to-Hardware Communication.

Following Moore's law, the density of integrated circuits is increasing in all dimensions, for instance, in 3D stacked chip networks. Amongst other electro-optic solutions, multimode optical interconnects on a silicon interposer promise to enable high throughput for modern hardware platforms in a restricted space. Such integrated architectures require confidential communication between multiple chips as a key factor for high-performance infrastructures in the 5G era and beyond.

Securing Data in Multimode Fibers by Exploiting Mode-Dependent Light Propagation Effects.

Multimode fibers hold great promise to advance data rates in optical communications but come with the challenge to compensate for modal crosstalk and mode-dependent losses, resulting in strong distortions. The holographic measurement of the transmission matrix enables not only correcting distortions but also harnessing these effects for creating a confidential data connection between legitimate communication parties, Alice and Bob. The feasibility of this physical-layer-security-based approach is demonstrated experimentally for the first time on a multimode fiber link to which the eavesdropper Eve is physically coupled.

Surveillance of few-mode fiber-communication channels with a single hidden layer neural network.

Multi- and few-mode fibers (FMFs) promise to enhance the capacity of optical communication networks by orders of magnitude. The key for this evolution was the strong advancement of computational approaches that allowed inherent complex light transmission to be surpassed, learned, or controlled, reined in by modal crosstalk and mode-dependent losses. However, complex light transmission through FMFs can be learned by a single hidden layer neural network (NN).

Benchmarking analysis of computer generated holograms for complex wavefront shaping using pixelated phase modulators.

Wavefront shaping with spatial light modulators (SLMs) enables aberration correction, especially for light control through complex media, like biological tissues and multimode fibres. High-fidelity light field shaping is associated with the calculation of computer generated holograms (CGHs), of which there are a variety of algorithms. The achievable performance of CGH algorithms depends on various parameters.

Large Shape Staggering in Neutron-Deficient Bi Isotopes.

The changes in the mean-square charge radius (relative to ^{209}Bi), magnetic dipole, and electric quadrupole moments of ^{187,188,189,191}Bi were measured using the in-source resonance-ionization spectroscopy technique at ISOLDE (CERN). A large staggering in radii was found in ^{187,188,189}Bi^{g}, manifested by a sharp radius increase for the ground state of ^{188}Bi relative to the neighboring ^{187,189}Bi^{g}. A large isomer shift was also observed for ^{188}Bi^{m}.

CERN-MEDICIS: A Review Since Commissioning in 2017.

The CERN-MEDICIS (MEDical Isotopes Collected from ISolde) facility has delivered its first radioactive ion beam at CERN (Switzerland) in December 2017 to support the research and development in nuclear medicine using non-conventional radionuclides. Since then, fourteen institutes, including CERN, have joined the collaboration to drive the scientific program of this unique installation and evaluate the needs of the community to improve the research in imaging, diagnostics, radiation therapy and personalized medicine. The facility has been built as an extension of the ISOLDE (Isotope Separator On Line DEvice) facility at CERN.

Isotope Shifts of Radium Monofluoride Molecules.

Isotope shifts of ^{223-226,228}Ra^{19}F were measured for different vibrational levels in the electronic transition A^{2}Π_{1/2}←X^{2}Σ^{+}. The observed isotope shifts demonstrate the particularly high sensitivity of radium monofluoride to nuclear size effects, offering a stringent test of models describing the electronic density within the radium nucleus. Ab initio quantum chemical calculations are in excellent agreement with experimental observations.

Yttrium Oxide Freeze-Casts: Target Materials for Radioactive Ion Beams.

Highly porous yttrium oxide is fabricated as ion beam target material in order to produce radioactive ion beams via the Isotope Separation On Line (ISOL) method. Freeze casting allows the formation of an aligned pore structure in these target materials to improve the isotope release. Aqueous suspensions containing a solid loading of 10, 15, and 20 vol% were solidified with a unidirectional freeze-casting setup.

Material Parameter Identification for Acoustic Simulation of Additively Manufactured Structures.

One possibility in order to manufacture products with very few restrictions in design freedom is additive manufacturing. For advanced acoustic design measures like Acoustic Black Holes (ABH), the layer-wise material deposition allows the continuous alignment of the mechanical impedance by different filling patterns and degrees of filling. In order to explore the full design potential, mechanical models are indispensable.

Effects of a seat-integrated mobilization system during passive driver fatigue.

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a seat-integrated mobilization system for maintaining vigilance under monotonous driving situations.

Method: For this purpose, vigilance indicators were compared intra-individually in a test condition with mobilization (seat-integrated stimulation) and a placebo condition under standardized conditions in a real driving study (N = 31). During a monotonous two-hour ride, physiological (brain activity by the EEG alpha spindle rate), performance-based (reaction times) and subjective indicators were recorded.

Publisher Correction: The observation of vibrating pear-shapes in radon nuclei.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The electron affinity of astatine.

One of the most important properties influencing the chemical behavior of an element is the electron affinity (EA). Among the remaining elements with unknown EA is astatine, where one of its isotopes, At, is remarkably well suited for targeted radionuclide therapy of cancer. With the At anion being involved in many aspects of current astatine labeling protocols, the knowledge of the electron affinity of this element is of prime importance.

Spectroscopy of short-lived radioactive molecules.

Molecular spectroscopy offers opportunities for the exploration of the fundamental laws of nature and the search for new particle physics beyond the standard model. Radioactive molecules-in which one or more of the atoms possesses a radioactive nucleus-can contain heavy and deformed nuclei, offering high sensitivity for investigating parity- and time-reversal-violation effects. Radium monofluoride, RaF, is of particular interest because it is predicted to have an electronic structure appropriate for laser cooling, thus paving the way for its use in high-precision spectroscopic studies.

Food choice patterns of long-haul truck drivers driving through Germany, a cross sectional study.

Background: Long-haul truck drivers are exposed to unfavorable working conditions affecting their health but information on truck drivers travelling through Europe is missing. The study aimed to describe the populations' characteristics and food choice patterns while working compared with eating patterns at home, taking weight status into account.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey using questionnaires in 12 languages conducted at two truck stops in Germany.

Physical Layer Security in Multimode Fiber Optical Networks.

The light propagation through a multimode fiber is used to increase information security during data transmission without the need for cryptographic approaches. The use of an inverse precoding method in a multimode fiber-optic communication network is based on mode-dependent losses on the physical layer. This leads to an asymmetry between legitimate (Bob) and illegitimate (Eve) recipients of messages, resulting in significant SNR advantage for Bob.

Evolution of Octupole Deformation in Radium Nuclei from Coulomb Excitation of Radioactive ^{222}Ra and ^{228}Ra Beams.

There is sparse direct experimental evidence that atomic nuclei can exhibit stable "pear" shapes arising from strong octupole correlations. In order to investigate the nature of octupole collectivity in radium isotopes, electric octupole (E3) matrix elements have been determined for transitions in ^{222,228}Ra nuclei using the method of sub-barrier, multistep Coulomb excitation. Beams of the radioactive radium isotopes were provided by the HIE-ISOLDE facility at CERN.

Multi-input Synapses, but Not LTP-Strengthened Synapses, Correlate with Hippocampal Memory Storage in Aged Mice.

Long-lasting changes at synapses enable memory storage in the brain. Although aging is associated with impaired memory formation, it is not known whether the synaptic underpinnings of memory storage differ with age. Using a training schedule that results in the same behavioral memory formation in young and aged mice, we examined synapse ultrastructure and molecular signaling in the hippocampus after contextual fear conditioning.

Defining Global Benchmarks in Bariatric Surgery: A Retrospective Multicenter Analysis of Minimally Invasive Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Objective: To define "best possible" outcomes for bariatric surgery (BS)(Roux-en-Y gastric bypass [RYGB] and sleeve gastrectomy [SG]).

Background: Reference values for optimal surgical outcomes in well-defined low-risk bariatric patients have not been established so far. Consequently, outcome comparison across centers and over time is impeded by heterogeneity in case-mix.