Hard two-body photodisintegration of 3He.

We have measured cross sections for the γ(3)He → pd reaction at photon energies of 0.4-1.4 GeV and a center-of-mass angle of 90°.

Limited asymmetry dependence of correlations from single nucleon transfer.

Single nucleon pickup reactions were performed with a 18.1 MeV/nucleon (14)O beam on a deuterium target. Within the coupled reaction channel framework, the measured cross sections were compared to theoretical predictions and analyzed using both phenomenological and microscopic overlap functions.

A multiscale coarse-grained polarizable solvent model for handling long tail bulk electrostatics.

A multiscale coarse-grained approach able to handle efficiently the solvation of microscopic solutes in extended chemical environment is described. That approach is able to compute readily and efficiently very long-range solute/solvent electrostatic microscopic interactions, up to the 1-μm scale, by considering a reduced amount of computational resources. All the required parameters are assigned to reproduce available data concerning the solvation of single ions.

The distribution of tritium between water and suspended matter in a laboratory experiment exposing sediment to tritiated water.

Following recent suggestions regarding the strong affinity of tritiated water for organic matter in suspended particulates and sediments, two equilibration experiments between sediment organic matter (dry and fresh) and tritiated water were performed to look for potential tritium bio-concentration. The T/H ratios measured at the end of both experiments are lower in the sediment organic matter than in the water, indicating that only a fraction of the hydrogen pool (between 14% and 20%) within the sediment equilibrated with the tritiated water. These results are consistent with the widely used concept of exchangeable and non-exchangeable tritium pools in organic matter and show no sign of tritium bio-accumulation in the sediment relative to water.

Nonsudden limits of heavy-ion induced knockout reactions.

We report on the single neutron and proton removal reactions from unstable nuclei with large asymmetry ΔS = S(n)-S(p) at incident energies below 80 MeV/nucleon. Strong nonsudden effects are observed in the case of deeply-bound-nucleon removal. The corresponding parallel momentum distributions exhibit an abrupt cutoff at high momentum that corresponds to an energy threshold occurring when the incident energy per particle is of comparable magnitude to the nucleon separation energy.

Proposed search for a fourth neutrino with a PBq antineutrino source.

Several observed anomalies in neutrino oscillation data can be explained by a hypothetical fourth neutrino separated from the three standard neutrinos by a squared mass difference of a few eV(2). We show that this hypothesis can be tested with a PBq (ten kilocurie scale) (144)Ce or (106)Ru antineutrino beta source deployed at the center of a large low background liquid scintillator detector. In particular, the compact size of such a source could yield an energy-dependent oscillating pattern in event spatial distribution that would unambiguously determine neutrino mass differences and mixing angles.

Combining a polarizable force-field and a coarse-grained polarizable solvent model. II. Accounting for hydrophobic effects.

A revised and improved version of our efficient polarizable force-field/coarse grained solvent combined approach (Masella, Borgis, and Cuniasse, J. Comput. Chem.

The spin ice Ho(2)Ti(2)O(7) versus the spin liquid Tb(2)Ti(2)O(7): field-induced magnetic structures.

We studied the field-induced magnetic structures of Ho(2)Ti(2)O(7) spin ice by means of single-crystal neutron diffraction with a magnetic field applied along a [110] direction. These structures are compared to those of the spin liquid Tb(2)Ti(2)O(7) previously measured in similar experimental conditions. For both compounds, magnetic structures of two types with k = 0 and k = (0, 0, 1) propagation vectors coexist at low temperature (1.

A large HPGe detector for the non-destructive radioassay of an ultra-low-background counting facility.

We present the use of a low background counting facility, equipped with a p-type 80% relative efficiency HPGe detector, protected by active and passive shielding, and large enough to count a 10 in photo-multiplier tube (PMT). A GEANT4 Monte-Carlo of this detector was developed and tuned to 3% accuracy. We report the U, Th, and K content in three different types of PMTs used in current neutrino experiments, with accuracies of ~10ppb for U and Th and of ~15ppm for K.

CoRoT reveals a magnetic activity cycle in a Sun-like star.

The 11-year activity cycle of the Sun is a consequence of a dynamo process occurring beneath its surface. We analyzed photometric data obtained by the CoRoT space mission, showing solarlike oscillations in the star HD49933, for signatures of stellar magnetic activity. Asteroseismic measurements of global changes in the oscillation frequencies and mode amplitudes reveal a modulation of at least 120 days, with the minimum frequency shift corresponding to maximum amplitude as in the Sun.

Anisotropic exchange in frustrated pyrochlore Yb(2)Ti(2)O(7).

The local Yb(3+) magnetic susceptibility tensor was recently measured in the frustrated pyrochlore compound Yb(2)Ti(2)O(7) by means of in-field polarized neutron scattering in a single crystal. A very anisotropic effective exchange tensor was derived for the Yb(3+) ion. Using this result, we reinterpret here the data for the powder susceptibility in Yb(2)Ti(2)O(7).

Monte Carlo modelling of the treatment line of the Proton Therapy Center in Orsay.

This paper presents the main results of a Monte Carlo simulation describing the Orsay Proton Therapy Center (CPO) beam line. The project aimed to obtain a prediction of the dose distribution in a water phantom within 2% accuracy in the dose value and a 2 mm of range. The simulation tool used was MCNPX, version 2.

Relevance of NH4F in acid digestion before ICP-MS analysis.

In order to implement a simpler, less expensive and more safe sample dissolution procedure, we have substituted the HF-HClO(4) mixture by NH(4)F. By testing three certified reference materials, lichen 336, basalt BE-N, soil 7, it was found that the three-reagents digestion without HF and HClO(4) (HNO(3)+H(2)O(2)+NH(4)F was used) was very effective for the pretreatment of ICP-MS measurement. The comparison was based on the measurement results and their uncertainties.

Secondary and tertiary structures of the transmembrane domains of the translocator protein TSPO determined by NMR. Stabilization of the TSPO tertiary fold upon ligand binding.

Numerous biological functions are attributed to the peripheral-type benzodiazepine receptor (PBR) recently renamed translocator protein (TSPO). The best characterized function is the translocation of cholesterol from the outer to inner mitochondrial membrane, which is a rate-determining step in steroid biosynthesis. TSPO drug ligands have been shown to stimulate pregnenolone formation by inducing TSPO-mediated translocation of cholesterol.

Combining a polarizable force-field and a coarse-grained polarizable solvent model: application to long dynamics simulations of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor.

The dynamic coupling between a polarizable protein force field and a particle-based implicit solvent model is described. The polarizable force field, TCPEp, developed recently to simulate protein systems, is characterized by a reduced number of polarizable sites, with a substantial gain in efficiency for an equal chemical accuracy. The Polarizable Pseudo-Particle (PPP) solvent model represents the macroscopic solvent polarization by induced dipoles placed on mobile Lennard-Jones pseudo-particles.

Lipid rafts: dream or reality for cholesterol transporters?

As a key constituent of the cell membranes, cholesterol is an endogenous component of mammalian cells of primary importance, and is thus subjected to highly regulated homeostasis at the cellular level as well as at the level of the whole body. This regulation requires adapted mechanisms favoring the handling of cholesterol in aqueous compartments, as well as its transfer into or out of membranes, involving membrane proteins. A membrane exhibits functional properties largely depending on its lipid composition and on its structural organization, which very often involves cholesterol-rich microdomains.

Role of the membrane interface on the conformation of the caveolin scaffolding domain: a CD and NMR study.

Circular dichroism (CD) and NMR spectroscopy were used to study the conformational properties of two synthetic peptides, D82-R101 and D82-I109, encompassing the caveolin scaffolding domain (D82-R101), in the presence of dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelles. Our data show that a stable helical conformation of the caveolin scaffolding domain in a membrane mimicking system is only obtained for the peptide including the L102-I109 hydrophobic stretch, a part of the caveolin intra-membrane domain. Through chemical shift variations, an ensemble of six residues of the D82-L109 peptide, mainly located in the V(94)TKYWFYR(101) motif were found to detect the presence of phosphatidylserine solubilized in DPC micelles.

Single-molecule dynamics in a self-assembled 2D molecular sieve.

A two-dimensional molecular sieve has been realized. It consists of a host matrix of molecularly engineered building blocks self-assembled at the liquid-solid interface. The simultaneous size- and shape-dependent dynamics of different guest molecules is observed in situ, in real time with submolecular resolution using a scanning tunneling microscope both at the liquid-solid interface and under vacuum.

Molecular dynamics simulations of E. coli MsbA transmembrane domain: formation of a semipore structure.

The human P-glycoprotein (MDR1/P-gp) is an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter involved in cellular response to chemical stress and failures of anticancer chemotherapy. In the absence of a high-resolution structure for P-gp, we were interested in the closest P-gp homolog for which a crystal structure is available: the bacterial ABC transporter MsbA. Here we present the molecular dynamics simulations performed on the transmembrane domain of the open-state MsbA in a bilayer composed of palmitoyl oleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine lipids.

Structural insight into the cooperativity between catalytic and noncatalytic sites of F1-ATPase.

F1-ATPase, the catalytic sector of Fo-F1 ATPases-ATPsynthases, displays an apparent negative cooperativity for ATP hydrolysis at high ATP concentrations which involves noncatalytic and catalytic nucleotide binding sites. The molecular mechanism of such cooperativity is currently unknown. To get further insights, we have investigated the structural consequences of the single mutation of two residues: Q173L in the alpha-subunit and Q170Y in the beta-subunit of the F1-ATPase of the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

A new design of 238Pu activity sources for use in intercomparison exercises.

In the framework of a BIPM 238Pu comparison exercise, a new design for a-radiation counting sources was developed. These sources are constructed with a gold-coated Vyns film stretched over a stainless-steel disk. To improve the crystallization of the radioactive salt, the physical properties of the gold-coated polymer surface which receives the radioactivity deposit is modified.

Mid-Membrane Photolabeling of the Transmembrane Domain of Glycophorin A in Phospholipid Vesicles.

The tandem use of the photosensitive bola-amphiphile 1 (X= H) and cholesterol enabled the determination of the center of the transmembrane domain of glycophorin A (131 amino acid residues) in a membrane by selective functionalization of the protein within a phospholipid bilayer.

Analysis of the tangled relationships between P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance and the lipid phase of the cell membrane.

P-glycoprotein (Pgp), the so-called multidrug transporter, is a plasma membrane glycoprotein often involved in the resistance of cancer cells towards multiple anticancer agents in the multidrug-resistant (MDR) phenotype. It has long been recognized that the lipid phase of the plasma membrane plays an important role with respect to multidrug resistance and Pgp because: the compounds involved in the MDR phenotype are hydrophobic and diffuse passively through the membrane; Pgp domains involved in drug binding are located within the putative transmembrane segments; Pgp activity is highly sensitive to its lipid environment; and Pgp may be involved in lipid trafficking and metabolism. Unraveling the different roles played by the membrane lipid phase in MDR is relevant, not only to the evaluation of the precise role of Pgp, but also to the understanding of the mechanism of action and function of Pgp.

Fibronectin and collagen gene expression during in vitro ageing of pig skin fibroblasts.

The fibronectin, collagen type I, and collagen type III genes code for three major proteins of the cell matrix. The age-related alterations in their expression were measured during the in vitro lifespan of pig skin fibroblasts. We observed changes in the transcription rate of these specific genes during ageing.