Vol.26,

The hard X-ray micro-focusing beamline (BL15U1) of SSRF is dedicated to hard X-ray micro/nano-spectrochemical analysis consisting of X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. It is one of the most versatile instruments in hard X-ray microscopy science. Since its commission in 2009, BL15U1 has allocated over 25000 h beamtime for users, and about 700 proposals have been executed. The beamline and the experimental end-station were upgraded for several times to facilitate the users’ experimental needs and make it more convenient to operate. In this paper, we give a review on the beamline, describing its characteristics, recent technical developments, and a few examples of scientific progresses achieved in recent years on BL15U1.

757

To upgrade Hefei Light Source (HLS) Linac, eight accelerating units have been constructed to realize full-energy injection of the storage ring. Each of the units consists of two 3-m accelerators driven by one klystron. The input cavity detuning method was developed to measure and correct the phase length of the RF power distribution waveguide system. The design of the waveguide network and the principles of the detuning method are presented in this paper. After correction, the phase error between the waveguide of the two accelerators was less than ±0.5°, and the maximum electron energy of Linac reached 805 MeV, which is very near the theoretical maximum value of 810 MeV. These results demonstrate that the calibration of the waveguide was successful.

498

For a high-energy electron facility, estimates of induced radioactivity in materials are of considerable importance to ensure that the exposure of personnel and the environment remains as low as reasonably achievable. In addition, accurate predictions of induced radioactivity are essential to the design, operation, and decommissioning of a high-energy electron linear accelerator. In the case of the 200-MeV electron linac of the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (NSRL), the electrons are accelerated by five acceleration tubes and collimated by copper scrapers. The scrapers, which play a vital role in protecting the acceleration cavity, are bombarded by many electrons over a long-term operation, which causes a significant amount of induced radioactivity. Recently, the NSRL Linac is the first high-energy electron linear accelerator in China to be out of commission. Its decommissioning is highly significant for obtaining decommissioning experience. This paper focuses on the measurement of induced radioactivity on the fourth scraper, where the electron energy was 158 MeV. The radionuclides were classified according to their half-lives. Such a classification provides a reliable basis for the formulation of radiation protection and facility decommissioning. To determine the high-radioactivity area and to facilitate the decommissioning process, the slicing method was applied in this study. The specific activity of ⁶⁰Co in each slice was measured at a cooling time of ten months, and the results were compared with the predictions generated by Monte Carlo program FLUKA. The trend of the measured results is in good agreement with the normalized simulation results. The slicing simulation using Monte Carlo method is useful for the determination of high-radiation areas and proper material handling protocols and, therefore, lays a foundation for the accumulation of decommissioning experience.

973

An electrostatic accelerating column was designed and fabricated by Lanzhou University for an intense D-T/D-D neutron generator. In order to achieve a neutron yield of 5.0×10¹² n/s, a deuteron beam of 30 mA, accelerated to 400 kV, and transported in the electrostatic accelerating column smoothly are required. One particle-in-cell code BEAMPATH was used to simulate the beam transport, and the IONB1.0 code was used to simulate the intense beam envelopes. Emittance growths due to space charge effect and spherical aberration were analyzed. The simulation results show that the accelerating column can transport deuteron beam of 30 mA smoothly and the requirement for the neutron generator is satisfied.

454

In this work, natural neutron spectra at nine sites in Tibet region were measured using a multi-sphere neutron spectrometer. The altitude-dependence of the spectra total fluence rate and ambient dose equivalent rate were analyzed. From the normalized natural neutron spectra at different altitudes, the spectrum fractions for neutrons of greater than 0.1 MeV do not differ obviously, while those of the thermal neutrons differ greatly from each other. The total fluence rate, effective dose rate and the ambient dose equivalent rate varied with the altitude according to an exponential law.

508

The operation of the HIRFL accelerator has shown that the beam transmission efficiency of the sector focusing cyclotron (SFC) injector line is rather poor. Beam simulations have been performed to investigate the possible causes for this low transmission. It is predicted that the property of transversal coupling of the ion beam from electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source can be an important factor to degrade the beam quality by increasing the beam emittance, resulting in a serious particle loss. An improved operation scheme for the SECRAL associated line has been proposed, and the corresponding experiment was carried out. This paper presents the test results.

508

To develop a microbe-based bioremediation strategy for cleaning up thorium-contaminated sites, we have investigated the biosorption behavior and mechanism of thorium on Bacillus sp. dwc-2, one of the dominant species of bacterial groups isolated from soils in Southwest China. Thorium biosorption depended on the pH of environment, and its rapid biosorption reached a maximum of up to 10.75 mg Th per gram of the bacteria (wet wt.) at pH 3.0. The biosorption agreed bettter with Langmuir isotherm model than Freundlich model, indicating that thorium biosorption was a monolayer adsorption. The thermodynamic parameters, negative change in Gibbs free energy and positive value in enthalpy and entropy, suggested that the biosorption was spontaneous, more favorable at higher temperature and endothermic process with an increase of entropy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that thorium initially binded with the cell surface, while transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that Th deposited in the cytoplasm and served as cores for growth of element precipitation (e.g., phosphate minerals) or by self-precipitation of hydroxides, which is probably controlled by ion-exchange, as evidenced by particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and enhanced proton backscattering spectrometry (EPBS). Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) further indicated that thorium biosorption involved carboxyl and phosphate groups and protein in complexation or electrostatic interaction. Overall results indicated that a combined electrostatic interaction-complexation-ion exchange mechanism could be involved in thorium biosorption by Bacillus sp. dwc-2.

661

In this paper, the growth curves of yeast cells exposed to X-rays were detected, and then fitted by Gompertz equation. The yeast cells treated with 50–125 Gy showed an increased exponential growth rate, and lower total biomass at plateau. At doses 150 Gy, cells showed a decreased exponential growth rate and higher total biomass at plateau. DNA lesions were detected by comet assay. Meanwhile, intracellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and cell membrane integrity were evaluated. We conclude that X-ray irradiation results in DNA lesions, ROS accumulation and ΔΨm decline in a dose-dependent manner, and that these changes may be one of causes of X-rays-induced apoptosis in yeast. Furthermore, yeast cell membrane integrity appeared compromised following irradiation, suggesting that membrane damage may also have a role in the biological effects of radiation.

615

To isolate and separate thorium from nitric acid solutions, three silica-based anion exchange resins were synthesized. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate adsorption behavior of thorium in nitric acid solutions. Adsorption at different concentrations of nitric acid and thorium, influence of contact time and coexisting metal ions, and effect of NO₃^- were investigated in detail. It was found that at high HNO₃ concentrations, the resins exhibited higher adsorption capacity and better affinity towards thorium. The adsorption kinetics could be described by the pseudo-second order model equation, while the adsorption isotherms were well correlated by the Langmuir model. The maximum capacity towards thorium species on SiPyR-N4 was evaluated at 27–28 mg/g-resin. The thermodynamic parameters indicated the adsorption was an exothermic reaction. The presence of NO₃^- was found to promote the retention of the thorium species.

714

Bleomycins (BLMs), as tumor-seeking antibiotics, have been used for over 20 years in treatment of several types of cancers. Several radioisotopes are used in radiolabeling of BLMs for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. An important points in developing new radiopharmaceuticals, especially therapeutic agents, is the absorbed dose delivered in critical organs. In this work, absorbed dose to organs after injection of ¹⁵³Sm-, ¹⁷⁷Lu- and ¹⁶⁶Ho-labeled BLM was investigated by radiation dose assessment resource (RADAR) method based on biodistribution data in wild-type rats. The absorbed dose effect of the radionuclides was evaluated. The maximum absorbed dose for the complexes was observed in the kidneys, liver and lungs. For all the radiolabeled BLMs, bone and red marrow received considerable absorbed dose. Due to the high energy beta particles emitted by ¹⁶⁶Ho, higher absorbed dose is observed for ¹⁶⁶Ho-BLM in the most organs. The reported data can be useful for the determination of the maximum permissible injected activity of the radiolabeled BLMs in the treatment planning programs.

450

This study was to evaluate effect of ¹²⁵I brachytherapy combined with chemotherapy on advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with NSCLC in stages III to IV were divided into two groups: Group A (n=27) received ¹²⁵I brachytherapy combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin (GP) chemotherapy, and Group B (n=27) received GP chemotherapy only. The results showed that the overall response rate and median progression-free survival time were 78% and 11.5 months in Group A, 41% and 8 months in Group B, respectively (P<0.05). For Group A, the 1- and 2-years survival rates were 67% and 37%, respectively, with the median survival time of 16 months, whereas the corresponding data of Group B were 48%, 22% and 11.5 months (P>0.05). The interventional complications in Group A included 5 patients with postoperative pneumothorax and 4 patients with hemoptysis. No patients had radiation pneumonia, radiation esophagitis or esophagotracheal fistula. Chemotherapy treatment-related toxicities were not significantly different between the two groups. The relief of tumor-associated symptoms including cough, hemoptysis, chest pain, and short breath was found in both groups, without statistical difference in remission rates between Groups A and B (P>0.05). In conclusion, ¹²⁵I brachytherapy combined with chemotherapy proved to be safe and effective for treating advanced NSCLC with few complications. It improves local control rate and prolongs the progression-free survival time.

434

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a well-known friendly polymer for paper-making, textiles, and a variety of coatings, biomedical applications such as artificial pancreas, synthetic vitreous body, wound dressing, artificial skin, and cardiovascular device. In this paper, ion/electron beam is employed to get insight into the irradiation effect on surface morphology and optical properties of PVA polymer. UV-Vis spectra are recorded to investigate the effect of induced defects on the optical band gap and the formed carbon clusters size. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to relate and investigate surface morphology and optical properties of the target polymer with different doses (15, 30 and 60 min). Also, PVA polymer is subjected to theoretical studies by using semi-empirical PM7 quantum chemical method.

562

Hefei Light Source (HLS)-II is a vacuum ultraviole (VUV) synchrotron light source. A major upgrade of the light source was finished at the end of 2014. The timing system was rebuilt using compact peripheral component interconnect (cPCI) event-driven hardware to meet synchronization requirements of the machine. In the new system, the cPCI event-driven products manufactured by the micro-research finland (MRF) Oy are employed to achieve about 100 output signals with different interfaces. Device supports and drivers developed for common Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) records are used to access the registers on the timing modules. Five cPCI-bus input/output controllers (IOCs) distributed in different areas of the light source host timing modules for various subsystems. The delay resolution of this system is 9.8 ns for most channels and 9 ps for the channels used for triggering the electron gun and the injection kickers. The measured rms jitter of the output signal is less than 27 ps. Using the bucket chooser, this system enables the HLS-II to fill the storage ring with any designated bunch pattern. Benefitting from this upgrade, brightness and performance of the light source are significantly improved.

441

A compact X-ray detector based on the lutetium yttrium oxyorthosilicate scintillator (LYSO) and silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) has been designed and fabricated for the hard X-ray diagnosis on the HL_2A and HL_2M Tokamak devices. The LYSO scintillator and SiPM in small dimensions were combined in a heat shrink tube package, making the detector compact and integrative. The Monte Carlo particle transport simulation tool, Geant4, was utilized for the design of the detector for the hard X-ray from 10 keV to 200 keV and the best structure scheme was presented. Finally, the detector was used to measure the photon spectrum of a ¹³⁷Cs gamma source with a pre-amplifier and a multichannel amplitude analyzer. The measured spectrum is consistent with the theoretic spectrum, it has shown that the energy resolution of the detector is less than 14.8% at an energy of 662 keV.

488

A spherical tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) for neutron monitoring has been developed. It was properly designed to produce a uniform electric field intensity around the anode wire. An internal ²⁴¹Am alpha source was adopted for lineal energy calibration. The TEPC was characterized in terms of dose equivalent response in a standard ²⁵²Cf neutron field, and was tested with 2.45 MeV neutrons. Microdosimetric spectra, frequency mean lineal energy and dose-average mean lineal energy of 2.45 MeV neutrons were obtained and compared with FLUKA Monte Carlo simulation results. The measurement and simulation results agreed well. The mean quality factor and dose equivalent values evaluated from the 2.45 MeV neutron measurement were in good agreement with the recommended effective quality factor and ambient dose equivalent H^*(10)(10), respectively. Preliminary results have proved the availability of the developed TEPC for neutron monitoring.

446

As photoelectrically detected ²⁵²Cf-source-driven neutron signals always contain noise, a denoising algorithm is proposed based on compressive sensing for the noised neutron signal. In the algorithm, Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) is applied to decompose the noised neutron signal and then find out the noised Intrinsic Mode Function (IMF) automatically. Thus, we only need to use the basis pursuit denoising (BPDN) algorithm to denoise these IMFs. For this reason, the proposed algorithm can be called EMDCSDN (Empirical Mode Decomposition Compressive Sensing Denoising). In addition, five indicators are employed to evaluate the denoising effect. The results show that the EMDCSDN algorithm is more effective than the other denoising algorithms including BPDN. This study provides a new approach for signal denoising at the front-end.

448

In this study, the activation cross-sections were measured for ²³²Th(n,2n)²³¹Th reactions at neutron energies of 14.1 and 14.8 MeV, which were produced by a neutron generator through a T(d,n)⁴He reaction. Induced gamma-ray activities were measured using a low background gamma ray spectrometer equipped with a high resolution HPGe detector. In the cross-section calculations, corrections were made regarding the effects of gamma-ray attenuation, dead-time, fluctuation of the neutron flux, and low energy neutrons. The measured cross-sections were compared with the literature data, evaluation data (ENDF-B/VII.1, JENDL-4.0 and CENDL-3.1), and the results of the model calculation (TALYS1.6).

810

Strategies for labeling proteins with fluorophores are always important for biotechnology. Here we take a model protein (bovine serum albumin) and a typical fluorophore (rhodamine B) to demonstrate a direct labeling method just by physical adsorption. In combination with size exclusion chromatography and the Scartchard equation, we have developed a facile analysis method for calculating the binding constant and binding sites. The molecular docking method has been used to study the binding site in amino acid level.

561

The N-terminal domain of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90^N) is responsible for the catalytic activity of Hsp90. The reported inhibitors of Hsp90 bind to this domain and would inhibit tumor growth and progression. Here, we synthesized FS23, a small molecule inhibitor of hsp90 and collected X-ray diffraction data of the complex crystal of Hsp90-FS23. High resolution X-ray crystallography shows that FS23 interacted with Hsp90^N at the nucleotide binding cleft, and this suggests that FS23 may complete with nucleotides to bind to Hsp90^N. The crystal structure and the interaction between Hsp90^N and FS23 suggest a rational basis for the design of novel antitumor drugs.

541

In this paper, a novel method for selectively detection of dopamine (DA) in the interference of ascorbic acid (AA) is described. A nanometer-sized gold flower microelectrode (NGFME) is prepared by flame-etching and electrochemical deposition. The electrode tip was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The NGFME is sized at about 100 μm and dimensions of thorns of the electrode were in nanometers. By modifying with DA aptamer on the surface, the prepared aptasensor can selectively detect DA even in the presence of high concentration AA. Experimental results show that this NGFME has no response to AA. As a comparison, the carbon fiber electrode without DA aptamer modification is unable to effectively detect DA in the presence of AA. The NGFME is easy-to-prepare, selective and sensitive for DA detection down to 25 μm. The electrode can be expected to detect DA in vivo and in real biological samples.

555

Based on the design of CLEAR (China LEAd-based Reactor), it is important to study the molten LBE (Lead-Bismuth Eutectic)/water interaction following an incidental steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) accident. Experiments were carried out to investigate the fragmentation behavior of the molten LBE/water contacting interface, with a high-speed video camera to record the fragmentation behavior of 300–600 ℃ LBE at 20 ℃ and 80 ℃ of water temperature. Violent explosion phenomenon occurred at water temperature of 20 ℃, while no explosion occurred at 80 ℃. Shapes of the LBE debris became round at 80 ℃ of water temperature, whereas the debris was of the needle-like shape at 20 ℃. For all the molten LBE and water temperatures in the present study, the debris sized at 2.8–5.0 mm had the largest mass fraction. The results indicate that the dominant physical mechanism of the molten LBE fragmentation was the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability between LBE/water direct contact interface.

533

To investigate the corrosion products of Cr in molten FLiNaK salt (46.5 mol% LiF–11.5 mol% NaF–42 mol% KF), the corrosion test of the pure metal Cr was performed in molten FLiNaK salt at 700 ℃ for 200 h. The FLiNaK salt after the corrosion test was thoroughly investigated by X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy, a transmission electron microscope, and X-ray diffraction. The results demonstrate that the predominant oxidation state of Cr in FLiNaK salt is Cr³⁺, and the main corrosion product in cooled FLiNaK salt is K₂NaCrF₆.

617

Molecular dynamics method is used to investigate the displacement cascades in Ni-Mo binary alloy. Effects of the irradiation temperature, energy of the primary knock-on atoms and concentration of solute Mo atoms are taken into consideration on radiation damage to the Ni-Mo alloy. It is found that Mo atoms reduce production of the Frenkel pairs at 100 K, while they enhance defect production at 300 K and 600 K. Size of the largest defect clusters decreases with increasing concentrations of Mo atoms (C_Mo) at 100 K, but it increases with C_Mo at 300 K and 600 K. Most of the point defects get clustered in cascades leaving only a few vacancies and interstitials isolated.

534