[en] Oncocytic L-type amino acid transporter (LAT) 1 may be a prognostic indicator and target of new molecular therapeutic agents against malignancies. To investigate whether LAT1 expression influence the outcomes of patients with bile duct cancer, the expression of LAT1, LAT2, CD98, and Ki-67 was investigated immunohistochemically in 134 surgically resected bile duct adenocarcinomas, including 84 distal extrahepatic bile duct adenocarcinomas, 21 hilar cholangiocarcinomas, 15 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, and 14 ampullary adenocarcinomas. LAT1 expression was weakly correlated with CD98 expression and Ki-67 labeling index (LI). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed a significant difference in prognosis between patients with bile duct adenocarcinomas having LAT1-high and -low scores, whereas LAT2 and CD98 expression and Ki-67 LI were not predictive of poor prognosis. Prognosis tended to be worse in patients having tumors with LAT1-high/LAT2-low than LAT1-low/LAT2-high scores (P = 0.0686). Multivariable analyses revealed that LAT1 expression, surgical margin, pT stage were independent prognostic factors. In conclusion, aberrant overexpression of LAT1 in bile duct adenocarcinoma predicts poor prognosis, suggesting that LAT1 may be a potential target of anticancer therapy

[en] Studies of isomerism in the proton-rich N ≅Z nuclei around ¹⁰⁰Sn give important insights into the role of proton-neutron pairing and also serve as testing grounds for nuclear models. In summer 2008, an experiment on ^96,97,98Cd was performed using the FRS fragment separator and the RISING germanium array at GSI. These exotic nuclei of interest were produced using fragmentation of a 850 MeV/u ¹²⁴Xe beam on a 4 g/cm²⁹Be target and finally implanted into an active stopper consisting of 9 double-sided silicon strip detectors. In ⁹⁸Cd, a new high-energy isomeric transition was identified. Preliminary results on ⁹⁸Cd are presented and their implications for the high-excitation level scheme are discussed.

[en] Using a ⁵⁸Ni(⁴⁶Ti, α2n) reaction, a total of 24 different residual nuclei were identified. Among them were ⁹⁸Cd and ⁹⁷Ag. The level scheme of ⁹⁸Cd was extended to J^π=(15⁺). An isomeric state at 6634 keV excitation energy was confirmed. This state decays by a 4207 keV transition feeding the known 8⁺ state. The level scheme of ⁹⁷Ag was also extended to J^π=(33/2⁺) and the half-lives of two isomeric states were measured. Experimental energies of the excited states were compared with the results of ab initio shell-model calculations based on a realistic two-nucleon interaction. The Gammasphere Ge array, coupled with the Microball and the Neutron Shell ancillary particle detectors, was used at the 88 inch cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA

[en] Excited states in ⁹⁸Cd, two proton holes from ¹⁰⁰Sn, were identified and studied for the first time, using in-beam spectroscopy with highly selective ancillary detectors. The structure of the (πg_9/2)^-2 two-proton-hole spectrum below a T_1/2=0.48(16) μs isomer is deduced and compared to shell-model predictions. A tentative I^π=(8⁺) assignment, as suggested by systematics, yields a strongly reduced B(E2,8⁺→6⁺)=0.44(⁺²⁰_-10) W.u., corresponding to an effective proton charge of e_π=0.85(⁺²⁰_-10) e , which is at variance with existing theoretical predictions. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

[en] The structure of the N = 50 isotones ⁹⁸Cd, ⁹⁷Ag and ⁹⁶Pd is studied in terms of a shell model employing a realistic effective interaction derived from the Bonn-A nucleon-nucleon potential. The single-hole energies are fixed by resorting to an analysis of the low-energy spectra of the isotones with A≥89. Comparison shows that our results are in very satisfactory agreement with the available experimental data. This supports confidence in the predictions of our calculations. (author)

[en] In a high-energy fragmentation experiment at GSI an I${}_{\pi }=(6^{+})$ isomer and its γ-decay are identified in ¹⁰²Sn, the two-neutron neighbour of the doubly-magic ¹⁰⁰Sn. Its half-life is measured to be T${}_{1/2}=367(11)$ ns. The possible existence of further isomers is discussed in the framework of large-scale shell model (LSSM) calculations including up to five particle-hole excitations of the ¹⁰⁰Sn core. From the precise B(E2; $6^{+}\to 4^{+}$) strength and the recently remeasured value for B(E2; $8^{+}\to 6^{+}$) in the two-proton hole neighbour ⁹⁸Cd effective E2 polarization charges for protons and neutrons were inferred including LSSM corrections within the full N=4 $0ħ\omega$ space. The results are discussed in comparison to predicted and empirically determined effective operators.

[en] Shell-model calculations of the β⁺ decay of ⁹⁴Ru, ⁹⁶Pd and ⁹⁸Cd are presented and compared to recent experiments. Two choices of model space are considered for the valence protons: the Og9/2 space and the Og9/2, 1p1/2, 1p3/2 space. In addition the Gamow-Teller operator is renormalized by considering first-order corrections to the initial wavefunctions. It is shown that the combined effects of enlarging the model space and renormalizing the Gamow-Teller operator improve the agreement with experiment but still, with the exception of the ⁹⁴Ru decay, the calculated hindrance factors are smaller than the observed ones. (author)

[en] Two main mechanisms are predicted to drive the possible shell evolution phenomena: the first is the so called monopole migration [1], which acts for both proton and neutron-rich nuclei, and the second, shell quenching, which is due to a softening of the potential shape that results from the presence of an excessive number of neutrons in very neutron-rich nuclei [2]. These mechanisms modify the known magic numbers as a consequence of shifting effective single-particle levels when going towards either the proton or the neutron drip lines. In medium-heavy nuclei the effort to establish shell evolution concentrates around the 1^00Sn [3] and 1^32Sn [4,5] doubly magic nuclei. The Sn isotopes form the longest isotopic chain in the nuclear chart accessible to current experimental study and thus provide a stringent testing ground for nuclear structure models. A remarkable similarity was found between the decay of 8⁺ isomers in 9^8Cd₅₀ [6] and 1^30Cd₈₂ [5], both of which have a pure g_9/2^-2 proton-hole configuration. However, the analogue of the known core excited isomer in 9^8Cd [7] was not observed in 1^30Cd, within experimental sensitivity, thus underlining the differences in the underlying neutron single-particle structure. The understanding of analogies in the structure of both regions of nuclei and the evolution of the N=82 shell gap below 1^32Sn is of importance in predicting the path of the rapid-neutron capture process which partially drives the production of elements heavier than Fe in nature. A handful of additional information on these two regions of nuclei was obtained recently in spectroscopy studies within the Rare ISotopes INvestigation at GSI (RISING) project [8,9] including the rp-process waiting point nuclei. Selected results will be discussed and compared with large scale shell model calculations using various sets of the realistic residual two-body interaction.(author)

[en] For the first time excited states of the neutron deficient nuclei ⁹⁸Cd and ¹⁰²Sn were identified using in-beam spectroscopy following fusion evaporation reactions. Half lives of long lived isomeric states in both nuclei were also measured. Due to very low cross sections for producing ⁹⁸Cd and ¹⁰²Sn with stable beams and targets, a special detector setup utilizing NORDBALL ancillary detectors and a recoil catcher device was used. High γ-ray detection efficiency was achieved with two EUROBALL Ge cluster detectors

[en] Cluster radioactivity in ¹¹⁴Ba is described as a spontaneous fission with a large mass asymmetry within the self-consistent HFB theory. A new fission valley with large octupole deformation is found in the potential energy surface. The fragment mass asymmetry of this fission mode corresponds to the expected one in cluster radioactivity with the emission of ¹⁶O predicted with a very long half-life. (author)