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. Neutron capture yields of dysprosium isotopes ( 161 Dy, 162 Dy, 163 Dy, and 164 Dy were measured using the time-of-flight method with a 16 segment sodium iodide multiplicity detector. The measurements were made at the 25m flight station at the Gaerttner LINAC Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Resonance parameters were obtained using the multilevel R-matrix Bayesian code SAMMY. The neutron capture data for four enriched dysprosium isotopes and one natural dysprosium sample were sequentially fitted. New resonances not listed in ENDF/B-VII.1 were observed. There were 29 and 17 new resonances from 161 Dy and 163 Dy isotopes, respectively. Six resonances from 161 Dy isotope, two resonances from 163 Dy, and four resonances from 164 Dy were not observed. The capture resonance integrals of each isotope were calculated with the resulting resonance parameters and those of ENDF/B-VII.1 in the energy region from 0.5eV to 20MeV and were compared to the capture resonance integrals with the resonance parameters from ENDF/B-VII.1. A resonance integral value of the natural dysprosium calculated with present resonance parameters was 1405 ± 3 . 5 barn. The value is ∼ 0 . 3 % higher than that obtained with the ENDF/B-VII.1 parameters. The distributions of the present and ENDF/B-VII.1 neutron widths were compared to a Porter-Thomas distribution. Neutron strength functions for 161 Dy and 163 Dy were calculated with the present resonance parameters and both values were in between the values of “Atlas of Neutron Resonances” and ENDF/B-VII.1. The present radiation width distributions of 161 Dy and 163 Dy were fitted with the χ 2 distribution by varying the degrees of freedom.

. After publication of the paper, the authors realized that the acknowledgements were not correct. Their correct version appears in this erratum.

The Gaerttner LINAC Center at RPI uses a 60 MeV electron linear accelerator to produce short pulses of neutrons with duration of 5-5000 ns. The main research thrust at the Center is nuclear data for nuclear reactors and criticality safety applications. The Center includes several setups for time-of-flight measurements including neutron transmission, capture and scattering detectors, and a lead slowing-down spectrometer. Experiments were designed to produce neutron interaction cross sections that cover the energy range of 0.01 eV to 20 MeV. Recently added experiments include: setups for keV and fast neutron transmission, a C6D6 detector array for keV neutron capture measurements, and a fast neutron scattering system. Results discussed here include fast neutron scattering and angular distributions for natFe, iron capture measurements for incident neutrons from 1 keV to 2 MeV, fast neutron transmission through W and H2O samples, and keV transmission through Mo isotopes.

Cadmium has been used historically as an important component of integral experiments because of its high thermal neutron absorption cross section. Correct interpretation of such experiments depends on accurate differential neutron cross section measurements. The 60 MeV electron accelerator at the Gaerttner LINAC Center was used to generate neutrons for neutron capture and total cross section measurements of natural Cd. Measurements were performed in the thermal and epithermal resonance range with sample thicknesses ranging from 1 x 10-4 to 4 x 10-2 atoms per barn. A full resonance region analysis was performed in order to determine the thermal cross sections and resonance integrals of the cadmium isotopes. The Bayesian R-Matrix code SAMMY 8.0 was used to shape fit the data and extract the resonance parameters. Resonance parameter and cross section uncertainties were determined from their primary components: transmission background, capture normalization, experimental resolution function, burst width, sample thickness, and counting statistics. The experiments were analyzed for consistency within the measured capture and transmission using multiple sample thicknesses. Results are compared to previously published measurements and evaluated nuclear libraries. No major changes to the thermal cross section or the first resonance in Cd113 were identified from the consensus achieved from measurements and evaluations over the past decade.

Due to seasonal upwelling, the upper ocean waters of the California Current System (CCS) have a naturally low pH and aragonite saturation state (Ωarag), making this region particularly prone to the effects of ocean acidification. Here, we use the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS) to conduct preindustrial and transient (1995–2050) simulations of ocean biogeochemistry in the CCS. The transient simulations were forced with increasing atmospheric pCO2 and increasing oceanic dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations at the lateral boundaries, as projected by the NCAR CSM 1.4 model for the IPCC SRES A2 scenario. Our results show a large seasonal variability in pH (range of ~ 0.14) and Ωarag (~ 0.2) for the nearshore areas (50 km from shore). This variability is created by the interplay of physical and biogeochemical processes. Despite this large variability, we find that present-day pH and Ωarag have already moved outside of their simulated preindustrial variability envelopes (defined by ±1 temporal standard deviation) due to the rapidly increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2. The nearshore surface pH of the northern and central CCS are simulated to move outside of their present-day variability envelopes by the mid-2040s and late 2030s, respectively. This transition may occur even earlier for nearshore surface Ωarag, which is projected to depart from its present-day variability envelope by the early- to mid-2030s. The aragonite saturation horizon of the central CCS is projected to shoal into the upper 75 m within the next 25 yr, causing near-permanent undersaturation in subsurface waters. Due to the model's overestimation of Ωarag, this transition may occur even earlier than simulated by the model. Overall, our study shows that the CCS joins the Arctic and Southern oceans as one of only a few known ocean regions presently approaching the dual threshold of widespread and near-permanent undersaturation with respect to aragonite and a departure from its variability envelope. In these regions, organisms may be forced to rapidly adjust to conditions that are both inherently chemically challenging and also substantially different from past conditions.

The determination of the chimpanzee genome sequence provides a means to study both structural and functional aspects of the evolution of the human genome. Here we compare humans and chimpanzees with respect to differences in expression levels and protein-coding sequences for genes active in brain, heart, liver, kidney, and testis. We find that the patterns of differences in gene expression and gene sequences are markedly similar. In particular, there is a gradation of selective constraints among the tissues so that the brain shows the least differences between the species whereas liver shows the most. Furthermore, expression levels as well as amino acid sequences of genes active in more tissues have diverged less between the species than have genes active in fewer tissues. In general, these patterns are consistent with a model of neutral evolution with negative selection. However, for X-chromosomal genes expressed in testis, patterns suggestive of positive selection on sequence changes as well as expression changes are seen. Furthermore, although genes expressed in the brain have changed less than have genes expressed in other tissues, in agreement with previous work we find that genes active in brain have accumulated more changes on the human than on the chimpanzee lineage.

1. The highly invasive spotted wing Drosophila Drosophila suzukii is a key pest of soft fruit and berries in Europe and North America, and development of control techniques is an urgent research challenge. Drosophila suzukii is widely associated with the yeast Hanseniaspora uvarum. Yeasts are symbionts of drosophilid flies and communicate with insects through volatile metabolites for spore dispersal. Accordingly, yeasts and behaviour-modifying chemicals produced by yeasts are prospective tools for environmentally sound insect management. 2. We first bioassayed flight attraction, feeding and oviposition of D. suzukii females in response to H. uvarum yeast and blueberries, which are a preferred host fruit. We then investigated the combined effect of yeast and insecticide on adult female oviposition behaviour and mortality towards the development of a yeast-based control method. 3. Following mating, attraction of female flies to blueberry and yeast odour cues was strongly enhanced. Yeast feeding significantly increased in mated females, while yeast did not increase oviposition on blueberries. This observation suggests that mated flies become attracted to yeast for feeding and to fruit for egg laying. A combined feeding-oviposition assay demonstrated different roles and interference between yeast and fruit stimuli: during the day after mating, females laid fewer eggs when yeast was available. 4. The post-mating yeast-feeding response is an opportunity for the development of an attract-and-kill technique for population control of D. suzukii. Exposing flies to a blend of yeast and insecticide reduced oviposition and greatly enhanced adult fly mortality compared with an insecticide treatment alone. 5. Synthesis and applications. Mated females are the key life stage for Drosophila suzukii population control. Egg-laying females perforate fruit skin and fungal infestations ensue, even when eggs and larvae are killed off by insecticide sprays. Behaviour-modifying chemicals, including yeast metabolites, enable environmentally safe insect management via manipulation of olfactory-mediated reproductive behaviour. Our results highlight that yeast and yeast semiochemicals hold potential for D. suzukii management and that response modulation to olfactory stimuli following mating is a vital element for the development of D. suzukii control methods. Yeast feeding is enhanced in mated D. suzukii females, and this change in post-mating behaviour can be exploited by an attract-and-kill strategy, combining a fly-associated yeast with an insecticide. Furthermore, using the D. suzukii yeast mutualist, H. uvarum, may reduce non-target effects and increase species specificity, which further contributes to the development of an efficient and safe control method.

Objectives: The choice of vascular access continues to be a critical component in the management of hemodialysis patients. Despite the international consensus favoring arteriovenous (AV) fistulas, the use of central venous catheters (CVCs) remains prevalent, with substantial variations across countries and even among dialysis centers within the same region. This study examines the prevalence of CVC use among chronic hemodialysis (CHD) patients in Vienna, Austria, and explores inter-center differences. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on patients receiving CVC-based CHD in Vienna as of March 2023. Patient demographics, comorbidities and their hemodialysis history were collected. Additionally, a subset of the population underwent vascular access (VA) mapping to assess eligibility for AV fistula (AVF) or AV graft (AVG) creation. Results: A total of 335 patients received CVC-based hemodialysis, equaling a CVC proportion of 42.5%. 191 (57.0%) patients on CVC-based CHD gave their consent to record their clinical data and vascular access history. Of the 191 included patients, 61 gave their consent to receive VA mapping. Of the 61 patients who received VA mapping, 60 (98.4%) were eligible for an upper extremity AVF or AVG. There was no significant difference regarding patient demographics, dialysis vintage, history of previous AVF or AVG or Charlson Comorbidity Index between the mapping and non-mapping group. The odds ratio of having a CVC in the absence of in-house vascular surgery was 3.41 (95% CI: 2.31–5.02, p-value < 0.001) compared to patients with in-house vascular surgery. Conclusions: The majority of patients that consented to ultrasound VA mapping fulfilled vascular requirements for AVF or AVG creation. Our study highlights the potential to decrease the prevalence of CVC-based CHD in Vienna that could translate to a reduction in CVC-associated complications.

Genome-wide association studies have revealed that many low-penetrance breast cancer susceptibility loci are located in non-protein coding genomic regions; however, few have been characterized. In a comparative genetics approach to model such loci in a rat breast cancer model, we previously identified the mammary carcinoma susceptibility locus Mcs1a. We now localize Mcs1a to a critical interval (277 Kb) within a gene desert. Mcs1a reduces mammary carcinoma multiplicity by 50% and acts in a mammary cell-autonomous manner. We developed a megadeletion mouse model, which lacks 535 Kb of sequence containing the Mcs1a ortholog. Global gene expression analysis by RNA-seq revealed that in the mouse mammary gland, the orphan nuclear receptor gene Nr2f1/Coup-tf1 is regulated by Mcs1a. In resistant Mcs1a congenic rats, as compared with susceptible congenic control rats, we found Nr2f1 transcript levels to be elevated in mammary gland, epithelial cells, and carcinoma samples. Chromatin looping over ∼820 Kb of sequence from the Nr2f1 promoter to a strongly conserved element within the Mcs1a critical interval was identified. This element contains a 14 bp indel polymorphism that affects a human-rat-mouse conserved COUP-TF binding motif and is a functional Mcs1a candidate. In both the rat and mouse models, higher Nr2f1 transcript levels are associated with higher abundance of luminal mammary epithelial cells. In both the mouse mammary gland and a human breast cancer global gene expression data set, we found Nr2f1 transcript levels to be strongly anti-correlated to a gene cluster enriched in cell cycle-related genes. We queried 12 large publicly available human breast cancer gene expression studies and found that the median NR2F1 transcript level is consistently lower in 'triple-negative' (ER-PR-HER2-) breast cancers as compared with 'receptor-positive' breast cancers. Our data suggest that the non-protein coding locus Mcs1a regulates Nr2f1, which is a candidate modifier of differentiation, proliferation, and mammary cancer risk.