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An automated CO2 gas handling and injection system was developed. It is designed to dilute CO2 samples with blank gas in a mixing volume. The system is intended to be used for the characterization and quantification of 14C content in reactor graphite with accelerator mass spectrometry. A 100 kV accelerator system was developed to measure samples with high 14C content, to test the gas injection system and to measure the 3H content from gaseous releases of reactor graphite. Additionally, the Tandetron model 4130 was purchased from the Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena (Germany) and a concept was developed for installation at the accelerator building of the University of Cologne. With the new 3 MV system, new isotopic ratio measurements and ion beam techniques for material analysis can be performed. The system will be used for nuclear waste management measurements of isotopes, e.g. 3H, 14C, 36Cl, 41Ca and 55Fe, which are difficult to measure with other techniques.

Lifetime measurements with the recoil distance Doppler-shift technique have been performed to determine yrast E2 transition strengths in 178Pt. The experimental data are related to those on neighboring Pt isotopes, especially recent data on 180Pt, and compared to calculations within the interacting boson model and a Hartree-Fock Bogoliubov approach. These models predict prolate deformed ground states in Pt isotopes close to neutron midshell consistent with the experimental findings. Further, evidence was found that the prolate intruder structure observed in neutron-deficient Hg isotopes that is minimum in energy in 182Hg becomes the ground state configuration in 178Pt and neighboring 180Pt with nearly identical transition quadrupole moments. The new data on 178Pt are further discussed in the context of the systematics along the Pt isotopic chain with respect to a possible sharp shape transition towards a weakly deformed or a quasi-vibrational ground state whereas the prolate structure increases in energy in 174,176Pt and becomes an intruder configuration similar to, for example, 180,182Hg.

To study the nuclear structure of neutron-rich titanium isotopes, a lifetime measurement was performed at the Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL) facility in Caen, France. The nucleiwere produced in a multinucleon-transfer reaction by using a 6.76 MeV/u 238U beam. The Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) was employed for the γ-ray detection and target-like recoils were identified event-by-event by the large-acceptance variable mode spectrometer (VAMOS++). Preliminary level lifetimes of the (5/2−) to 13/2− states of the yrast band in the neutron-rich nucleus 53Ti were measured for the first time employing the recoil distance Doppler-shift (RDDS) method and the compact plunger for deep inelastic reactions. The differential decay curve method (DDCM) was used to obtain the lifetimes from the RDDS data.

Lifetimes of excited states of 124Ba were measured by the Recoil Distance Doppler Shift (RDDS) technique. The γ-ray coincidence data were analysed by the Differential Decay Curve method (DDCM). The trend of the experimentally deduced normalized B(E2) values reveals a drop at the 8+1 state, which may be caused by structural changes in the backbending region.

Little is understood about the roles of mitochondria in pregnancy-related adaptations. Therefore, we evaluated associations of maternal early-to-mid pregnancy mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) and mtDNA methylation with birth size and gestational length. Michigan women ( n  = 396) provided venous bloodspots at median 11 weeks gestation to quantify mtDNAcn marker NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 1 ( ND1 ) using real-time quantitative PCR and mtDNA methylation at several regions within four mitochondria-specific genes using pyrosequencing: MTTF (mitochondrially encoded tRNA phenylalanine), DLOOP (D-loop promoter region, heavy strand), CYTB (cytochrome b), and LDLR (D-loop promoter region, light strand). We abstracted gestational length and birthweight from birth certificates and calculated birthweight z -scores using published references. We used multivariable linear regression to evaluate associations of mtDNAcn and mtDNA methylation with birthweight and birthweight z -scores. Cox Proportional Hazards Models (PHMs) and quantile regression characterized associations of mitochondrial measures with gestational length. We also considered differences by fetal sex. Using linear regression and Cox PHMs, mtDNAcn was not associated with birth outcomes, whereas associations of mtDNA methylation with birth outcomes were inconsistent. However, using quantile regression, mtDNAcn was associated with shorter gestation in female newborns at the upper quantiles of gestational length, but with longer gestational length in males at the lower quantiles of gestational length. Maternal LDLR, DLOOP , and MTTF methylation was associated with longer gestational length in females at the upper quantiles and in males at lower gestational length quantiles. Maternal mtDNAcn and mtDNA methylation were associated with gestational length in babies born comparatively early or late, which could reflect adaptations in mitochondrial processes that regulate the length of gestation., Competing Interests: None declared., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

Aflatoxins are toxic compounds produced by molds of the Aspergillus species that contaminate food primarily in tropical countries. The most toxic aflatoxin, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in these countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, aflatoxin contamination is common, and perinatal AFB1 exposure has been linked to the early onset of HCC. Epigenetic programming, including changes to DNA methylation, is one mechanism by which early life exposures can lead to adult disease. This study aims to elucidate whether perinatal AFB1 exposure alters markers of offspring health including weight, lipid, and hormone profiles as well as epigenetic regulation that may later influence cancer risk. Pregnant rats were exposed to two doses of AFB1 (low 0.5 and high 5 mg/kg) before conception, throughout pregnancy, and while weaning and compared to an unexposed group. Offspring from each group were followed to 3 weeks or 3 months of age, and their blood and liver samples were collected. Body weights and lipids were assessed at 3 weeks and 3 months while reproductive, gonadotropic, and thyroid hormones were assessed at 3 months. Prenatal AFB1 (high dose) exposure resulted in significant 16.3%, 31.6%, and 7.5% decreases in weight of the offspring at birth, 3 weeks, and 3 months, respectively. Both doses of exposure altered lipid and hormone profiles. Pyrosequencing was used to quantify percent DNA methylation at tumor suppressor gene Tp53 and growth-regulator H19 in DNA from liver and blood. Results were compared between the control and AFB1 exposure groups in 3-week liver samples and 3-week and 3-month blood samples. Relative to controls, Tp53 DNA methylation in both low- and high-dose exposed rats was significantly decreased in liver samples and increased in the blood ( p < 0.05 in linear mixed models). H19 methylation was higher in the liver from low- and high-exposed rats and decreased in 3-month blood samples from the high exposure group ( p < 0.05). Further research is warranted to determine whether such hormone, lipid, and epigenetic alterations from AFB1 exposure early in life play a role in the development of early-onset HCC.