The possibility of the dependence of the nuclear caloric curve on neutron excess sets a limit on the accuracy of our knowledge of the nuclear equation of state, and thus impacts predictive capabilities of nuclear reaction and nuclear astrophysics models. To date, theoretical models have not reached consensus on the magnitude or sign on the asymmetry dependence. To provide constraints, we have measured evaporated particles and heavy residues for complete and incomplete fusion-evaporation reactions in inverse kinematics. The temperatures extracted from the observed light charged particles tend to favor higher temperatures for the neutron-rich fused systems, though they are near the limits of the systematic uncertainty. The present measurement may be used as an upper limit to constrain the asymmetry dependence of the nuclear caloric curve.

The silicon telescopes of the Forward Array Using Silicon Technology (FAUST) have been recently upgraded with silicon detectors which use resistive charge-splitting to measure the position of charged particles. This is in addition to the measurement of the total energy that these charged particles deposit in the detector. The upgrade results in increased angular resolution with a much smaller number of signals than silicon strip detectors with similar resolution. A novel method of calibration has been used to demonstrate the efficacy of these position-sensitive detectors, and the detectors have been used in a commissioning experiment.

Abstract Background Previous studies have reported an association between hyperlipidemia and pancreatitis in dogs, but details of this association remain poorly defined. Hypothesis/Objectives To compare serum triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations and lipoprotein profiles between dogs with naturally occurring pancreatitis and healthy dogs. Animals Seventeen dogs with a clinical diagnosis of pancreatitis (Group 1) and 53 healthy control dogs (Group 2). Methods Prospective case‐control study. Results In Group 1, 3/17 dogs (18%) had hypertriglyceridemia whereas in Group 2, 4/53 dogs (7.5%) had hypertriglyceridemia (odds ratio [OR], 2.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52‐13.14; P = .35). A significant difference was found in serum triglyceride concentrations between Group 1 (median, 67 mg/dL) and Group 2 (median, 54 mg/dL; P = .002). In Group 1, 4/17 dogs (24%) had hypercholesterolemia, whereas 1/53 (1.9%) dogs in Group 2 had hypercholesterolemia (OR, 16; 95% CI, 1.64‐155.5; P = .01). No significant difference was found in serum cholesterol concentrations between Group 1 (median, 209 mg/dL) and Group 2 (median, 227 mg/dL; P = .56). Lipoprotein profiles were significantly different between Group 1 and Group 2 dogs (Eigenvalues, 0.6719; R2 = 1.0; P = .001). Conclusions and Clinical Importance Most dogs with pancreatitis (>70%) had serum triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations within reference intervals. In the small percentage of dogs that had hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, or both, increases were mild. Important differences were identified in lipoprotein profiles between dogs with pancreatitis and healthy control dogs. Dogs with pancreatitis had higher low‐density lipoprotein fractions and lower triglyceride‐rich lipoprotein and high‐density lipoprotein fractions than healthy dogs.

Background Hypertriglyceridemia is common in Miniature Schnauzer (MS). Dietary management of hypertriglyceridemia is important, but no studies are available. Hypothesis/Objectives To evaluate the effect of a commercially available low-fat diet on serum triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations and lipoprotein profiles in MS with hypertriglyceridemia. Animals Sixteen MS with hypertriglyceridemia and 28 MS without hypertriglyceridemia. Methods Prospective clinical trial. Four blood samples (1-2 months before and 1 day before diet change and 2 and 3 months after the dogs were fed the low-fat diet) were collected from the MS with hypertriglyceridemia. Results Serum triglyceride concentrations for the 2 samples after the diet change (median of sample 3 = 177 mg/dL; range, 48-498; median of sample 4 = 168 mg/dL; range, 77-745) were significantly lower than the 2 samples before the diet change (median of sample 1 = 480 mg/dL; range, 181-1320; median of sample 2 = 493 mg/dL; range, 114-1395;P < .001). Serum cholesterol concentrations for the 2 samples after the diet change (mean for sample 3 = 257 mg/dL, SD = 82.2; mean for sample 4 = 178 mg/dL, SD = 87.4) were also significantly lower than the 2 samples before the diet change (mean for sample 1 = 381 mg/dL, SD = 146.1; mean for sample 2 = 380 mg/dL, SD = 134.7;P < .001). Before the diet change, 15/16 (94%) of hyperlipidemic MS were classified as hyperlipidemic based on their lipoprotein profiles alone. After the diet change, significantly fewer MS (7/16; 44%; odds ratio = 19.3; 95% CI = 2.0-184.0;P= .006) were classified as hyperlipidemic based on lipoprotein profile analysis. Conclusions and Clinical Importance The study diet was effective in reducing serum triglyceride and cholesterol concentrations and correcting lipoprotein profiles in MS with hypertriglyceridemia.

Previous work has quantified the degree of neutron-proton equilibration in heavy-ion nuclear collisions by observing the convergence of isospin observables (such as the isoscaling parameter $\ensuremath{\alpha}$) to an expected value based on similar symmetric reaction systems. We present a new signature of equilibration: the convergence of the isospin asymmetry (as quantified by three isoscaling metrics) of two mirror asymmetric reaction systems toward each other rather than a predefined point. For the reactions of 35 MeV/$u$ $^{64,70}\mathrm{Zn}+^{64,70}\mathrm{Zn}$ and $^{64}\mathrm{Zn},^{64}\mathrm{Ni}+^{64}\mathrm{Zn},^{64}\mathrm{Ni}$ the neutron-proton equilibration was found to be approximately 80%, and this result is compared directly to previous work.

The ASY-EOS experiment at GSI laboratory measured the direct and elliptic flow of neutrons and light charged particles in the reaction 197Au+197 Au at 400 A MeV incident energy. The ratio of elliptic flow of neutrons with respect to that of the light charged particles was used as main experimental observable to probe the density dependence of the symmetry energy term of the nuclear equation of state. Results, obtained by comparison of the experimental data with the UrQMD model predictions, strongly support a moderately soft to linear density dependence of the symmetry energy at suprasaturation densities below 2ρ0.

In the ASY-EOS experiment flows of neutrons and light charged particles were measured for 197Au+197Au collisions at 400 MeV/nucleon, in order to investigate the strength of the symmetry term of the nuclear equation of state at supra-saturation densities. By comparing the experimental data with the UrQMD transport model predictions, we have extracted a new constraint in agreement with the moderately soft to linear density dependence obtained in the former analysis on FOPI-LAND data, but reducing the associated uncertainty by a factor ∼ 2.

Directed and elliptic flows of neutrons and light charged particles were measured for the reaction 197Au+197Au at 400 MeV/nucleon incident energy within the ASY-EOS experimental campaign at the GSI laboratory. The detection system consisted of the Large Area Neutron Detector LAND, combined with parts of the CHIMERA multidetector, of the ALADIN Time-of-flight Wall, and of the Washington-University Microball detector. The latter three arrays were used for the event characterization and reaction-plane reconstruction. In addition, an array of triple telescopes, KRATTA, was used for complementary measurements of the isotopic composition and flows of light charged particles. From the comparison of the elliptic flow ratio of neutrons with respect to charged particles with UrQMD predictions, a value \gamma = 0.72 \pm 0.19 is obtained for the power-law coefficient describing the density dependence of the potential part in the parametrization of the symmetry energy. It represents a new and more stringent constraint for the regime of supra-saturation density and confirms, with a considerably smaller uncertainty, the moderately soft to linear density dependence deduced from the earlier FOPI-LAND data. The densities probed are shown to reach beyond twice saturation.

The elliptic-flow ratio of neutrons with respect to protons or light complex particles in reactions of heavy ions at pre-relativistic energies has been proposed as an observable sensitive to the strength of the symmetry term of the nuclear equation of state at supra-saturation densities. In the ASY-EOS experiment at the GSI laboratory, flows of neutrons and light charged particles were measured for 197Au+197Au collisions at 400 MeV/nucleon. Flow results obtained for the Au+Au system, in comparison with predictions of the UrQMD transport model, confirm the moderately soft to linear density dependence of the symmetry energy deduced from the earlier FOPI-LAND data.

A new method of accessing information on the symmetry free energy from yields of fragments produced in Fermi-energy heavy-ion collisions is proposed. Furthermore, by means of quantum fluctuation analysis techniques, correlations between extracted symmetry free energy coefficients with temperature and density were studied. The obtained results are consistent with those of commonly used isoscaling techniques.

Heavy-ion collisions at lower energies provide a rich environment for investigating reaction dynamics. Recent theory has suggested a sensitivity to the symmetry energy and the equation of state via deformations of the reaction system and ternary breaking of the deformed reaction partners into three heavy fragments. A new detection system has been commissioned at Texas A&M University in an attempt to investigate some of the observables sensitive to the nuclear equation of state.

Heavy-ion collisions have played an important role in probing the asymmetry term of the nuclear Equation of State (nEoS). As the bombarding energy increases from lower energies (∼9 MeV/nucleon) to near the Fermi energy, the reaction mechanism transitions from deep-inelastic transfer reactions to those resulting in the multi fragmentation of the reaction system. In the energy regime between the two extremes, there is the possibility of observing the dynamical breaking of the system into a few heavy reaction partners. This feature, regardless of the energy or asymmetry of the reacting system, has been predicted to be sensitive to the asymmetry term of the nEoS through a number of theoretical predictions. Recently, a new experiment has been conducted at the Texas A&M University Cyclotron Institute to explore the dynamical breaking of the reaction system at 15 MeV/nucleon. The reaction systems studied, Xe,Sn+Ni and Xe+Ni, were chosen as they provide a wide range of isospin asymmetry. The forward array using silicon technology (FAUST) was coupled to a large quadrupole triplet spectrometer (QTS) to collect both the emitted intermediate mass fragments (Z ≥ 3) and the heavy, projectile-like remnant. This arrangement was designed, based on the predictions of numerous simulations, to be the most sensitive for detecting a three-body breakup of the reaction system. Previously, experimental observations have shown a strong angular alignment in the dynamical breakup of the hot, projectile-like source. In this experiment, a dependence on the charge and isospin asymmetry of the entrance channel in this energy regime is noted. A modest dependence on the mass and energy of the quasi-projectile (QP) source has been shown to play a significant role in understanding the angular

Heavy-ion collisions around the Fermi energy provide a rich environment for investigating reaction dynamics and provide an opportunity to explore the transition from quasi-fission to multi-fragmentation. A new detection system, FAUST–QTS, has been commissioned at Texas A&M University in order to investigate the reaction dynamics in this transitional energy regime. FAUST–QTS is constructed through the coupling of the FAUST array to a large bore quadrupole triplet spectrometer, and designed to detect heavy fragments near the beam axis coincident with lighter particles.

The quantum-fluctuation method using Coulomb corrections is explored to extract temperatures and densities of hot nuclear systems produced in Fermi-energy heavy-ion collisions. The role of the neutron-proton asymmetry of the system was investigated. Temperature values were observed to not depend on the system neutron-proton asymmetry while a clear dependence is seen for density values. Coulomb corrections have been shown to lower temperature values by almost 2 MeV. On the other hand, density results exhibit a small variation.

The proton-proton correlation function has been predicted to be sensitive to the asymmetry energy of nuclear matter [1]. We plan to measure proton-proton correlation functions for reactions of 45 MeV/A Ca, Ar+Ni, Fe at the Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute. The data will then be compared to Constrained Molecular Dynamics (CoMD) [2] results, for the purpose of investigating the impact of the asymmetry energy term of the equation-of-state on the shape and size of the correlation function. The FAUST (Forward Array Using Silicon Technology) array [3] of sixty-eight 2x2cm 300 μm thick Si backed by CsI(Tl)-photodiode detectors, arranged to geometrically accept the particles originating from the quasiprojectile (QP), or excited source resulting from the nuclear reaction, will be used for this experiment. The upgrade to enhance data collection for this purpose is described here. A precise knowledge of the point of detection of the particles is essential when measuring a correlation function for a reaction, so improved angular resolution is of paramount importance [4]. In order to increase the angular resolution of charged-particle detection, the FAUST array is being upgraded using Dual-Axis Dual-Lateral (DADL) Si detectors [5]. The DADLs have uniform resistance across the front and back of the detectors and employ charge-splitting to determine the position of the detected light charged particles to within 200 μm. Fig. 1 schematically shows the equipotential lines on the surface of a DADL detector. The uniform potential created by the reverse bias allows the holes or electrons to be collected on the opposite sides of the detector. Due to the resistive surface across each face of the detector, the holes on the back of the detector split proportionally to the two back signals, while the electrons are charge split proportionally

The nuclear equation of state (EoS) near saturation density has been constrained for some time, however the behavior at significantly suband super-saturation densities is still poorly constrained. Numerous simulations suggest that the ratio of the kinetic energy spectra of neutrons and protons would be sensitive to both the symmetry energy as well as the nucleon effective mass splitting, should any exist. This ratio is defined as where is the kinetic energy spectrum of particle . This yield

Heavy-ion collisions provide an important probe of the nuclear equation of state. However, the dependence of different observables on the underlying interaction is not always clearly defined. A multidimensional analysis technique has been used to discriminate the observables sensitive to the asymmetry energy based on the results from Constrained Molecular Dynamics and a Stochastic Mean Field model. This multidimensional technique can be used to enhance our analysis of experimental observables and, thus, improve our ability to constrain the nuclear equation of state.