No abstract

Objective. To identify intervals containing sys-temic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility alleles in the BXSB strain of mice. Methods. We analyzed 286 (B10 [B10 BXSB]F 1) backcross mice for a range of phenotypic traits associated with the development of SLE in BXSB mice. The mice were genotyped using 93 microsatellite markers, and the linkage of these markers to disease was studied by extreme-phenotype and quantitative trait locus analysis. Results. The disease phenotype in these backcross mice was less severe than that in BXSB mice. However, antinuclear antibody production was increased compared with the parental strain. We identified 4 areas of genetic linkage to disease on chromosome 1 (Bxs1-4), 1 on chromosome 3 (Bxs5), and another interval on chromosome 13 which were associated with various aspects of the phenotype. Bxs4 and Bxs5 are located in regions not previously linked to disease in other models of SLE. Conclusion. SLE in the BXSB mouse model has a complex genetic basis and involves at least 5 distinct intervals located on chromosomes 1 and 3. There is evidence that different intervals affect particular aspects of the SLE phenotype.

Nuclear level densities and γ-ray strength functions of 56,57Fe have been extracted from proton-γ coincidences. A low-energy enhancement in the γ-ray strength functions up to a factor of 30 over common theoretical E1 models is confirmed. Angular distributions of the low-energy enhancement in 57Fe indicate its dipole nature, in agreement with findings for 56Fe. The high statistics and the excellent energy resolution of the large-volume LaBr3(Ce) detectors allowed for a thorough analysis of γ strength as function of excitation energy. Taking into account the presence of strong Porter–Thomas fluctuations, there is no indication of any significant excitation energy dependence in the γ-ray strength function, in support of the generalized Brink–Axel hypothesis.

We investigated the 238 U(d,p) reaction as a surrogate for the n + 238 U reaction. For this purpose we measured for the first time the gamma-decay and fission probabilities of 239 U* simultaneously and compared them to the corresponding neutron-induced data. We present the details of the procedure to infer the decay probabilities, as well as a thorough uncertainty analysis, including parameter correlations. Calculations based on the continuum-discretized coupledchannels method and the distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) were used to correct our data from detected protons originating from elastic and inelastic deuteron breakup. In the region where fission and gamma emission compete, the corrected fission probability is in agreement with neutron-induced data, whereas the gamma-decay probability is much higher than the neutroninduced data. We have performed calculations of the decay probabilities with the statistical model and of the average angular momentum populated in the 238 U(d,p) reaction with the DWBA to interpret these results.

No abstract