In the so-called ‘alpha-heating’ experiment performed on the JET tokamak during the deuterium–tritium campaign of 1997, the ion temperature was found to be far exceeding (both in absolute value and in its rise time) the level that could have been expected from direct collisional heating by the fusion-born alpha particles themselves and energy equipartition with the electrons. To date, no explan...

Pulmonary toxicology studies in rats demonstrate that nanoparticles are more toxic than fine-sized particles of similar chemistry. This study, however, provides evidence to contradict this theory. The aims of the study were (1) to compare the toxicity of synthetic 50 nm nanoquartz I particles versus (mined) Min-U-Sil quartz ( approximately 500 nm); the toxicity of synthetic 12 nm nanoquartz II ...

The three telescopes identify particle energy and type by various techniques. Energy loss and range, which provide the identification of protons (1 to 300 MeV), alpha particles (4 to 1200 MeV) and electrons (1 to 500 MeV), are measured in a stack of silicon solid state detectors and tungsten absorbers in the NE-Range telescope, while the identification of protons (350 to 1000 MeV), alpha partic...

The stability of proposed burning-plasma scenarios (for ITER-FEAT, IGNITOR and FIRE) with respect to shear-Alfvén modes possibly driven by fusionproduced alpha particles is investigated along with the effects of such modes on the transport and confinement properties of the alpha particles themselves. The results of numerical particle-in-cell model simulations show that one of the proposed scena...

To better understand the role of LCAT in HDL metabolism, we compared HDL subpopulations in subjects with homozygous (n = 11) and heterozygous (n = 11) LCAT deficiency with controls (n = 22). Distribution and concentrations of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I)-, apoA-II-, apoA-IV-, apoC-I-, apoC-III-, and apoE-containing HDL subpopulations were assessed. Compared with controls, homozygotes and heteroz...

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a widely distributed herpesvirus that causes significant morbidity in immunocompromised hosts. Inhibitors of viral DNA replication are available, but adverse effects limit their use. Alternative antiviral strategies may include inhibition of entry. We show that soluble derivatives of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFR-alpha), a putative rece...

We have found reduced activity of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha accompanying resolving and fibrosing alveolitis induced in NMRI mice by mineral particles (MnO2 and SiO2, respectively), which is in apparent contradiction to the well-recognized proinflammatory and profibrotic activities of this cytokine. The objective of this study was to examine the mechanisms involved in this paradoxical re...

Background: : Due to the difficulties of locally obtaining ZnS(Ag), preliminary investigation of the radioluminescence characterization of Zinc oxide (ZnO) for alpha particle detection was performed. Materials and Methods: The scintillation properties of ZnO films were tested using alpha sources                &nbsp...