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The purpose of this paper is to show applicability ofmultifractal analysis in investigations of the morphological changes of ultra-structures of red blood cells (RBCs) membrane skeleton measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Human RBCsobtainedfromhealthyandhypertensivedonorsas wellas healthy erythrocytes irradiated with neutrons (45 μGy) were studied. The membrane skeleton of the cells was imaged using AFMin a contactmode.Morphological characterization of the three-dimensional RBC surfaces was realized by amultifractal method. The nanometre scale study of human RBCs surface morphology revealed a multifractal geometry. The generalized dimensions Dq and the singularity spectrum f(α) provided quantitative values that characterize the local scale properties of their membrane skeleton organization. Surface characterization was made using areal ISO 25178-2: 2012 topography parameters in combination with AFM topography measurement. The surface structure of human RBCs is complex with hierarchical substructures resulting from the organization of the erythrocyte membrane skeleton. The analysed AFM images confirm a multifractal nature of the surface that could be useful in histology to quantify human RBC architectural changes associated with different disease states. In case of [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two neutronics experiments have been carried out at 14MeV neutron sources on mock-ups of the helium cooled pebble bed (HCBP) and the helium cooled lithium lead (HCLL) variants of ITER test blanket modules (TBMs). These experiments have provided an experimental validation of the calculations of the tritium production rate (TPR) in the two blanket concepts and an assessment of the uncertainties due to the uncertainties on nuclear data. This paper provides a brief summary of the HCPB experiment and then focuses in particular on the final results of the HCLL experiment. The TPR has been measured in the HCLL mock-up irradiated for long times at the Frascati 14MeV Neutron Generator (FNG). Redundant and well-assessed experimental techniques have been used to measure the TPR by different teams for inter-comparison. Measurements of the neutron and gamma-ray spectra have also been performed. The analysis of the experiment, carried out by the MCNP code with FENDL-2.1 and JEFF-3.1.1 nuclear data libraries, and also including sensitivity/uncertainty analysis, shows good agreement between measurements and calculations, within the total uncertainty of 5.9% at 1σ level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]