Evaluation of the uncertainty in calculating nanodosimetric quantities due to the use of different interaction cross sections in Monte Carlo track structure codes

Villagrasa, C.*; Baiocco, G.*; Chaoui, Z.-E.-A.*; Dingfelder, M.*; Incerti, S.*; Kundrt, P.*; Kyriakou, I.*; Matsuya, Yusuke; Kai, Takeshi; Parisi, A.*; et al.

PLOS ONE (Internet), 21(1), p.e0340500_1 - e0340500_22, 2026/01

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0340500

Nanodosimetry, which is important for understanding the biological effects after ionizing radiation exposure, can be evaluated using Monte Carlo Track Structure (MCTS) codes that can reproduce atomic interactions at the molecular scale. Various MCTS codes, developed independently over decades, have used different physical models and cross section data sets for electron interactions in liquid water, that is the main component of biological tissues. In this study, we evaluated the uncertainties in nanodosimetric calculations due to the variation of interaction cross sections used in various MCTS codes. The calculation results of seven MCTS codes (i.e., Geant4-DNA, PARTRAC, PHITS, MCwater, and PTra) revealed that there were large differences in physical quantities at molecular scale, such as the average number of ionizations and the probability of two or more ionizations. The largest differences were observed for low-energy electrons, where the contribution of the interaction cross section was found to be the main cause of uncertainty. These results highlight that difference in the cross section have a non-negligible impact on biological effects, such as complex DNA damage induction.

Soft, wearable, microfluidic system for fluorometric analysis of loss of amino acids through eccrine sweat

Cho, S. H.*; Cho, S. W.*; Lv, Z.*; Sekine, Yurina; Liu, S.*; Zhou, M.*; Nuxoll, R. F.*; Kanatzidis, E. E.*; Ghaffari, R.*; Kim, D.*; et al.

Lab on a Chip, 25(7), p.1647 - 1655, 2025/04

https://doi.org/10.1039/D4LC00734D

Amino acids are essential for protein synthesis and metabolic processes in support of homeostatic balance and healthy body functions. This study quantitatively investigates eccrine sweat as a significant channel for loss of amino acids during exercise, to improve an understanding of amino acid turnover and to provide feedback to users on the need for supplement intake. The measurement platform consists of a soft, skin-interfaced microfluidic system for real-time analysis of amino acid content in eccrine sweat. This system relies on integrated fluorometric assays and smartphone-based imaging techniques for quantitative analysis.

Stress and plastic strain partitioning behaviors and those contributions to martensitic transformation of retained austenite in medium manganese and transformation-induced plasticity-aided bainitic ferrite steels

Hojo, Tomohiko*; Koyama, Motomichi*; Kumai, Bakuya*; Zhou, Y.*; Shibayama, Yuki; Shiro, Ayumi*; Shobu, Takahisa; Saito, Hiroyuki*; Ajita, Saya*; Akiyama, Eiji*

ISIJ International, 65(2), p.284 - 296, 2025/02

https://doi.org/10.2355/isijinternational.ISIJINT-2024-268

Study of 3-dimensional SU(2) gauge theory with adjoint Higgs as a model for cuprate superconductors

Catumba, G.*; Hiraguchi, Atsuki; W.-S. Hou, G.*; Jansen, K.*; Kao, Y.-J.*; David Lin, C.-J.*; Ramos, A.*; Sarkar, M.*

Proceedings of Science (Internet), 453, p.362_1 - 362_7, 2024/11

https://doi.org/10.22323/1.453.0362

We study a 3-dimensional SU(2) gauge theory with 4 Higgs fields which transform under the adjoint representation of the gauge group, that has been recently proposed by Sachdev et al. to explain the physics of cuprate superconductors near optimal doping. The symmetric confining phase of the theory corresponds to the usual Fermi-liquid phase while the broken (Higgs) phase is associated with the interesting pseudogap phase of cuprates. We employ the Hybrid Monte-Carlo algorithm to study the phase diagram of the theory. We find the existence of a variety of broken phases in qualitative accordance with earlier mean-field predictions and discuss their role in cuprates. In addition, we investigate the behavior of Polyakov loop to probe the confinement/deconfinement phase transition, and find that the Higgs phase hosts a stable deconfining phase consistent with previous studies.

Brightening triplet excitons enable high-performance white-light emission in organic small molecules via integrating n-- transitions

Yang, Q.*; Yang, X.*; Wang, Y.*; Fei, Y.*; Li, F.*; Zheng, H.*; Li, K.*; Han, Y.*; Hattori, Takanori; Zhu, P.*; et al.

Nature Communications (Internet), 15, p.7778_1 - 7778_9, 2024/09

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52196-7

Luminescent materials that simultaneously embody bright singlet and triplet excitons hold great potential in optoelectronics, signage, and information encryption. However, achieving high-performance white-light emission is severely hampered by their inherent unbalanced contribution of fluorescence and phosphorescence. Herein, we address this challenge by pressure treatment engineering via hydrogen bonding cooperativity effect to realize the mixture of n-- transitions, where the triplet state emission was boosted from 7% to 40% in isophthalic acid (IPA). A superior white-light emission based on hybrid fluorescence and phosphorescence was harvested in pressure-treated IPA, and the photoluminescence quantum yield was increased to 75% from the initial 19% (blue-light emission). In-situ high-pressure IR spectra, X ray diffraction, and neutron diffraction reveal continuous strengthening of the hydrogen bonds with the increase of pressure. Furthermore, this enhanced hydrogen bond is retained down to the ambient conditions after pressure treatment, awarding the targeted IPA efficient intersystem crossing for balanced singlet/triplet excitons population and resulting in efficient white-light emission. This work not only proposes a route for brightening triplet states in organic small molecule, but also regulates the ratio of singlet and triplet excitons to construct high-performance white-light emission.

Gradient residual stress and fatigue life prediction of induction hardened carbon steel S38C axles; Experiment and simulation

Qin, T. Y.*; Hu, F. F.*; Xu, P. G.; Zhang, H.*; Zhou, L.*; Ao, N.*; Su, Y. H.; Shobu, Takahisa; Wu, S. C.*

International Journal of Fatigue, 185, p.108336_1 - 108336_13, 2024/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2024.108336

Spectral evidence for Dirac spinons in a kagome lattice antiferromagnet

Zeng, Z.*; Zhou, C.*; Zhou, H.*; Han, L.*; Chi, R.*; Li, K.*; Kofu, Maiko; Nakajima, Kenji; Wei, Y.*; Zhang, W.*; et al.

Nature Physics, 20(7), p.1097 - 1102, 2024/07

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02495-z

A Systematic approach for the adequacy analysis of a set of experimental databases; Application in the framework of the ATRIUM activity

Baccou, J.*; Glantz, T.*; Ghione, A.*; Sargentini, L.*; Fillion, P.*; Damblin, G.*; Sueur, R.*; Iooss, B.*; Fang, J.*; Liu, J.*; et al.

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 421, p.113035_1 - 113035_16, 2024/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2024.113035

Probing deformation behavior of a refractory high-entropy alloy using neutron diffraction

Zhou, Y.*; Song, W.*; Zhang, F.*; Wu, Y.*; Lei, Z.*; Jiao, M.*; Zhang, X.*; Dong, J.*; Zhang, Y.*; Yang, M.*; et al.

Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 971, p.172635_1 - 172635_7, 2024/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2023.172635

Level structures of Ca cast doubt on a doubly magic Ca

Chen, S.*; Browne, F.*; Doornenbal, P.*; Lee, J.*; Obertelli, A.*; Tsunoda, Yusuke*; Otsuka, Takaharu*; Chazono, Yoshiki*; Hagen, G.*; Holt, J. D.*; et al.

Physics Letters B, 843, p.138025_1 - 138025_7, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2023.138025

Gamma decays were observed in Ca and Ca following quasi-free one-proton knockout reactions from Sc. For Ca, a ray transition was measured to be 1456(12) keV, while for Ca an indication for a transition was observed at 1115(34) keV. Both transitions were tentatively assigned as the decays. A shell-model calculation in a wide model space with a marginally modified effective nucleon-nucleon interaction depicts excellent agreement with experiment for level energies, two-neutron separation energies, and reaction cross sections, corroborating the formation of a new nuclear shell above the N = 34 shell. Its constituents, the and orbitals, are almost degenerate. This degeneracy precludes the possibility for a doubly magic Ca and potentially drives the dripline of Ca isotopes to Ca or even beyond.