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A new X-ray imaging and biomedical application beamline (BL13HB) has been implemented at the Shanghai Radiation Synchrotron Facility (SSRF) as an upgrade to the old X-ray imaging and biomedical application beamline (BL13W1). This is part of the Phase II construction project of the SSRF. The BL13HB is dedicated to 2D and 3D static and dynamic X-ray imaging, with a field of view of up to 48.5 mm × 5.2 mm and spatial resolution as high as 0.8 μm. A super-bending magnet is used as the X-ray source in BL13HB, which has a maximum magnetic field of 2.293 T. The energy range of monochromatic X-ray photons from a double-multiplayer monochromator was 8–40 keV, and the white beam mode was provided on the beamline for dynamic X-ray imaging and dynamic X-ray micro-CT. While maintaining the previous experimental setup of BL13W1, new equipment was added to the beamline experimental station. The beamline is equipped with different sets of X-ray imaging detectors for several experimental methods such as micro-CT, dynamic micro-CT, and pair distribution function. The experimental station of BL13HB is designed specifically for various in situ dynamic experiments, and BL13HB has been open to users since June 2021.

AbstractObjective:To investigate the relationship between plasma myostatin levels and right ventricle (RV) dysfunction (RVD) in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD).Methods:The study recruited 84 patients with AECOPD. Plasma myostatin was analyzed and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) < 16 mm was used as the main indicator for RVD.Results:Plasma myostatin levels were significantly higher in 47 patients with RVD than 37 ones without (P < 0.005). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that myostatin levels correlated significantly with TAPSE values and RV myocardial performance index (p < 0.001) among the study patients.Conclusion:Plasma myostatin is a potential biomarker for improving diagnosis of RVD in AECOPD.

Although viral infections are a major cause of exacerbations in patients with chronic airway diseases, their roles in triggering bronchiectasis exacerbations in adults remain unclear. Therefore, we prospectively investigated the incidence and clinical impacts of viral infection in adults with bronchiectasis exacerbations.

As global warming becomes increasingly serious, some proper measures should be taken to avoid the possible devastating effects. To address this issue, corporations may take CO2emission into consideration when they are engaged in operations planning. In this study, we attempt to optimise order fulfilment which considers carbon footprint as well as cost as objectives for global companies with multiple manufacturing sites. A two-phased decision-making mechanism is adopted: in the first phase, inappropriate manufacturing sites are manually excluded to reduce computation time; in the second phase, multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) is employed to find solutions which illustrate the interactions between total carbon footprint and total cost. In order to examine the effectiveness of the proposed approach, this study performs a variety of experiments partly based on real data from a famous global company in Taiwan. The research findings show that the proposed mechanism can obtain feasible solutions effectively and efficiently. When the site number increases, the total carbon footprint decreases, and influences the environment positively.

The oil spill dispersant called “elimination agent of oil” is used to disperse the oil slicks to facilitate the natural elimination of oil. Oil spill dispersants are used to enhance the rate of natural dispersion of an oil spill at sea. There is growing acceptance worldwide that use of dispersants to counter the effects of an oil spill offers many advantages and can often result in a net environmental benefit when considered in relation to other response options. Timely spraying oil spill dispersants is the main measures to remove surface oil pollution and to prevent fires, when mechanical recycling cannot be used in case of emergency. Efficient and environmentally friendly oil spill dispersant meet both the emulsification dispersion and zero pollution to the environment, and has been more widely used and developed.

A Novel adsorption apparatus for processing hazardous chemicals diffusion and volatilization of inland waterway transportation is developed. The adsorption apparatus is lightweight and has high effective absorption capability for processing the gas chemicals produced by inland river transportation. Meanwhile, the experiment for analysis and processing for the bulk chemicals gas is carried out. The results showed that the concentration of chemicals gas decreased by 69-83% comparing with that not using the device.

In this paper we employ a two-stage approach to solve the project reviewer assignment problem. The objective is to best satisfy the preferences of reviewers. In addition, the number of total movement times of reviewers is minimized. Reviewers are first invited to show their preferences to the projects with a number to indicate their priority. After aggregating the data, a two-stage approach is used to best match the reviewers and projects. At the first stage reviewers are assigned, while at the second stage review venues are arranged in a way that the total change times of venues for reviewers are minimized. The results show that the proposed two-stage scheme is very helpful in solving the project reviewer assignment problem.

To investigate the efficacy and safety profiles of corticosteroid therapy in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients.

To determine the possibility that asymptomatic bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) develops into symptomatic asthma, a two-year follow-up study was conducted in 81 students (48 male, 33 female; 11 to 17 years) who were found to have BHR in a 3,067 population survey (BHR group). Eighty-eight age-matched students (48 male, 40 female) with normal bronchial responsiveness served as control subjects. Daily symptom cards were recorded. Peak expiratory flow rate was measured for 24 h when symptoms occurred. Histamine inhalation tests were performed at the beginning of the study and at the end of the first and the second year. In the BHR group, 58 students remained bronchial hyperresponsive at the end of follow-up. Nine of 31 students with initially diagnosed bronchial asthma had their symptoms relieved entirely, but ten asymptomatic students developed asthma. The incidence of newly diagnosed asthma (12.5 percent in the BHR group or 20 percent in the asymptomatic BHR group) and the total percentage of diagnosed asthma (39.5 percent) in the BHR group were significantly higher than those (2.27 percent, 2.27 percent) in the control group. FVC and FEV1showed no significant difference between two groups. PD20 FEV1values in newly diagnosed asthmatics were significantly lower than those in asymptomatic students both at the beginning (3.05 ±1.56 µmol vs 6.14±1.60 µmol, p<0.05) or the end (3.47±1.73 µmol vs 6.55 ±1.51 µmol, p<0.05). The percentage of early respiratory illness was significantly higher in those with newly diagnosed asthma (80 percent) than in asymptomatic students (22.3 percent), but atopic index and the percentage of parental asthma showed no difference between two groups. In nine asthmatics whose symptoms were relieved entirely in the two-year follow-up, PD20 FEV1was undetectable within the cumulative dose of 7.8 µmol of histamine in three students and rose from 4.58 ± 1.85 µmol to 7.62 ± 1.02 µmol in the remaining six. The higher the BHR, the more likely the students developed asthma. About 45 percent of asymptomatic students with PD20 ≤3.2 µmol developed asthma in the following two years and 80 percent of them had a history of early respiratory illness, suggesting that they may have subclinical or potential asthma.

This work presents a thermal analysis on predicting the temperature increase and the voltage response of high-Tc superconducting bolometers. Two heat transfer models, that is, the surface heating model and the heat generation model considering the skin depth, are introduced and compared. The surface heating model is found to be valid only for situations where the skin depth is much smaller than the film thickness. To consider the thermal boundary resistance between film and substrate, a radiation-boundary-condition model based on acoustic mismatch model (AMM) and an interfacial-layer model (ILM) are employed. The thermal boundary resistance significantly influences the voltage response. Additionally, several common substrates are examined. SrTiO3 (100) or LaAlO3 (100) is a better substrate for high-Tc superconducting bolometers. One interesting finding was that when compared with experimental data, all the theoretical values from the present study as well as the other previously theoretical treatment overestimate the voltage response near the transition temperature.

This work presents a thermal analysis on predicting the temperature increase and the voltage response of high-Tc superconducting bolometers. Two heat transfer models, that is, the surface heating model and the heat generation model considering the skin depth, are introduced and compared. The surface heating model is found to be valid only for situations where the skin depth is much smaller than the film thickness. To consider the thermal boundary resistance between film and substrate, a radiation-boundary-condition model based on acoustic mismatch model (AMM) and an interfacial-layer model (ILM) are employed. The thermal boundary resistance significantly influences the voltage response. Additionally, several common substrates are examined. SrTiO3 (100) or LaAlO3 (100) is a better substrate for high-Tc superconducting bolometers. One interesting finding was that when compared with experimental data, all the theoretical values from the present study as well as the other previously theoretical treatment overestimate the voltage response near the transition temperature.

Intrinsic thermal stability denotes a situation where a superconductor can carry the operating current without Joule heating at all times after the occurrence of a localized release of thermal disturbance. The present work deals with the intrinsic thermal stability of an anisotropic thin-film superconductor under a localized release of thermal energy. A three-dimensional analysis is introduced to consider an instantaneous release of energy in the form of a point source at different locations. Through the transformation of coordinate, an exact solution is obtained by the method of separation of variables. Results from this study indicate that the thermal stability parameter of highly oriented films of superconductors is strongly under the influence of anisotropy. The stability parameter also depends on the location of point source, the amount of disturbance energy, the Biot number, and the aspect ratio in the plane of thin film and normal to it.

Exacerbations are crucial events in the progression of bronchiectasis. Previous studies have documented associations between viral or bacterial infection and bronchiectasis exacerbations, but assays for viral or bacterial infection were conducted separately. No study has yet revealed an association between bacteria and viruses in bronchiectasis exacerbations. Moreover, the clinical correlates of bacterial with or without viral detections are unclear. We sought to explore associations between bacterial infection, viral infection and co-infection, and exacerbation of bronchiectasis.