Different materials and proton beam energies have been studied in order to search for an optimized neutron production target and beam shaping assembly for accelerator-based BNCT. The solution proposed in this work consists of successive stacks of Al, polytetrafluoroethylene, commercially known as Teflon, and LiF as moderator and neutron absorber, and Pb as reflector. This assembly is easy to build and its cost is relatively low. An exhaustive Monte Carlo simulation study has been performed evaluating the doses delivered to a Snyder model head phantom by a neutron production Li-metal target based on the (7)Li(p,n)(7)Be reaction for proton bombarding energies of 1.92, 2.0, 2.3 and 2.5 MeV. Three moderator thicknesses have been studied and the figures of merit show the advantage of irradiating with near-resonance-energy protons (2.3 MeV) because of the relatively high neutron yield at this energy, which at the same time keeps the fast neutron healthy tissue dose limited and leads to the lowest treatment times. A moderator of 34 cm length has shown the best performance among the studied cases.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.05.063 | DOI Listing |
Int J Biol Macromol
January 2025
School of Food Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, 410128, Hunan, China. Electronic address:
This study explored a facile method for converting macadamia nutshells into bio-based nanomaterials, including cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and lignin nanoparticles (LNPs), through deep eutectic solvent (DES) pretreatment coupled with a nanofabrication strategy. Comparisons of the physicochemical, morphological, and structural properties of the CNF and LNPs produced through acidic choline chloride/oxalic acid dihydrate (ACDES) and alkaline KCO/glycerol DES (ALDES) pretreatments were conducted using SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD, TGA, GPC and 2D NMR. The CNFs obtained from ACDES pretreatment (ACCNFs) exhibited uniform and long filament-like structures with shorter whisker-like nanocrystals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemistry
January 2025
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, 430074, Wuhan, CHINA.
Block copolymer (BCP) microparticles, which exhibit rapid change of morphology and physicochemical property in response to external stimuli, represent a promising avenue for the development of programmable smart materials. Among the methods available for generating BCP microparticles with adjustable morphologies, the confined assembly of BCPs within emulsions has emerged as a particularly facile and versatile approach. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the role of responsive surfactants in modulating interfacial interactions at the oil-water interface, which facilitates controlled BCP microparticle morphology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolymers (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Interdisciplinary Center for Molecular Materials, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Egerlandstr. 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
pH-responsive polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers are used as well-defined building blocks to design light-switchable nano-assemblies in solution. The complex interplay between the photoresponsive di-anionic azo dye Acid Yellow 38 (AY38) and the cationic PAMAM dendrimers of different generations is presented in this study. Electrostatic self-assembly involving secondary dipole-dipole interactions provides well-defined assemblies within a broad size range (10 nm-1 μm) with various shapes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Biochemistry, Biophysics, Chemical Biology Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Institute of Structural Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Penn Center for Genome Integrity, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Epigenetics Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address:
The centromere is the chromosomal locus that recruits the kinetochore, directing faithful propagation of the genome during cell division. Using cryo-ET on human mitotic chromosomes, we reveal a distinctive architecture at the centromere: clustered 20- to 25-nm nucleosome-associated complexes within chromatin clearings that delineate them from surrounding chromatin. Centromere components CENP-C and CENP-N are each required for the integrity of the complexes, while CENP-C is also required to maintain the chromatin clearing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Department of Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), Tervuren, Belgium.
Insect diversity is closely linked to the evolution of phytophagy, with most phytophagous insects showing a strong degree of specialisation for specific host plants. Recent studies suggest that the insect gut microbiome might be crucial in facilitating the dietary (host plant) range. This requires the formation of stable insect-microbiome associations, but it remains largely unclear which processes govern the assembly of insect microbiomes.
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