Shedding Light on the Origin of ^{204}Pb, the Heaviest s-Process-Only Isotope in the Solar System.

Asymptotic giant branch stars are responsible for the production of most of the heavy isotopes beyond Sr observed in the solar system. Among them, isotopes shielded from the r-process contribution by their stable isobars are defined as s-only nuclei. For a long time the abundance of ^{204}Pb, the heaviest s-only isotope, has been a topic of debate because state-of-the-art stellar models appeared to systematically underestimate its solar abundance.

Ge( ) cross section below 70 keV measured at n_TOF CERN.

Neutron capture reaction cross sections on Ge are of importance to determine Ge production during the astrophysical slow neutron capture process. We present new resonance data on Ge( ) reactions below 70 keV neutron energy. We calculate Maxwellian averaged cross sections, combining our data below 70 keV with evaluated cross sections at higher neutron energies.

Neutron Capture on the s-Process Branching Point ^{171}Tm via Time-of-Flight and Activation.

The neutron capture cross sections of several unstable nuclides acting as branching points in the s process are crucial for stellar nucleosynthesis studies. The unstable ^{171}Tm (t_{1/2}=1.92  yr) is part of the branching around mass A∼170 but its neutron capture cross section as a function of the neutron energy is not known to date.

Study of inelastic nuclear interactions of 400 GeV/c protons in bent silicon crystals for beam steering purposes.

Inelastic nuclear interaction probability of 400 GeV/c protons interacting with bent silicon crystals was investigated, in particular for both types of crystals installed at the CERN Large Hadron Collider for beam collimation purposes. In comparison to amorphous scattering interaction, in planar channeling this probability is for the quasi-mosaic type (planes (111)), and for the strip type (planes (110)). Moreover, the absolute inelastic nuclear interaction probability in the axial channeling orientation, along the axis, was estimated for the first time, finding a value of for a crystal 2 mm long along the beam direction, with a bending angle of 55 rad.

Design of a nanocomposite substrate inducing adult stem cell assembly and progression toward an Epiblast-like or Primitive Endoderm-like phenotype via mechanotransduction.

This work shows that the active interaction between human umbilical cord matrix stem cells and Poly (l-lactide)acid (PLLA) and PLLA/Multi Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposite films results in the stem cell assembly as a spheroid conformation and affects the stem cell fate transition. We demonstrated that spheroids directly respond to a tunable surface and the bulk properties (electric, dielectric and thermal) of plain and nanocomposite PLLA films by triggering a mechanotransduction axis. This stepwise process starts from tethering of the cells' focal adhesion proteins to the surface, together with the adherens junctions between cells.