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The HEPS plans to adopt on-axis injection scheme because the dynamic aperture of machine is not large enough for off-axis injection for its baseline 7BA lattice design. A couple sets of strip-line kicker and fast pulser of ± 15 kV amplitude, 15 ns pulse bottom width are needed for bunch spacing of 10 ns to minimize perturbation on adjacent bunches. To achieve these requirement, a multifaceted R&D program including the strip-line kicker and HV pulser, was initiated last 2 years. So far, the prototype development of a 750 mm long strip-line kicker and a DSRD pulser was completed and the preliminary test results show they can meet the baseline requirement of the HEPS.

Measuring residual aberrations up to second order using a crystalline specimen in transmission electron microscope is challenging. Here, we show by good examples of both experimental and simulated images that it is feasible to measure aberrations up to the second-order, using minimum amplitude contrast criterion for the exit wave function reconstructed. We propose a two-steps strategy for the task: (i) Firstly measuring defocus and two-fold astigmatism simultaneously to avoid error accumulation and to reduce the number of dimensions in parameters space. (ii) Then, with minimized misleading effects (or errors) in defocus and two-fold astigmatism, estimations of three-fold astigmatism and coma can be conducted more efficiently and effectively. Influences of other factors such as specimen structure, resolution and specimen thickness on the validity of the method are also discussed in detail. Our study provides a practical procedure for correcting residual aberrations in image wave using crystalline materials, which can then facilitate application of exit wave reconstruction technique to materials research.

The microstructure and mechanical properties of 2Cr13/316L composite plates by hot-rolling at different rolling temperatures of 1130 °C, 1180 °C, 1250 °C, 1300 °C are investigated in details. With the increase of the rolling temperature, the tensile strength and bending strength of 2Cr13/316Lwere reduced first and then increased slightly due to the coarsening of grains and the increasing of ferrite content in 2Cr13 layers. The highest tensile elongation is obtained at the composite plate with rolling temperature of 1180 °C. 2Cr13/316L composite plates obtained by hot rolling processes were able to withstand larger bending deformation, and no cracks or interfacial delamination can be found in the bending process because of a strong combined interface.

This paper analyzes the micro-mechanism of decrease of impact toughness with increasing Silicon and increasing Copper in weld metal of a low-alloy high-strength X120 steel. By comparing the microstructures, measuring the extending length of the fibrous crack, and calculating the local cleavage fracture stress σf, and then using the basic principles of the micro-mechanism of cleavage fracture, the essential causes of change of toughness in the weld metal of high-strength steel welded joints are revealed in this work.

In order to investigate the effects of thermal cycle shocking on microstructures and mechanical properties of Stellite 12 Cobalt based alloy, the thermal shocking with various cycles of 1, 15, 30, 45…150 cycles at the peak temperatures of 650 °C, 700 °C and 800 °C were performed, and the corresponded microstructure characterization, tensile, bending and hardness experiments after the thermal shocking with various cycles at various temperatures were systematically investigated. Results indicated that the microstructure and hardness have not changed after the thermal cycle shocking processes, the tensile strength and flexure strength decrease with the increase of thermal shocking cycles, when thermal shocking cycles reaches 105 cycles, the flexural strength decreases to 30% of original flexure strength, which is attributed to the 23~30% cracking areas produced during thermal cycle shocking processes.

Two groups of 10ns-level superfast kickers are needed in the on-axis swap out injection scheme, adopted by the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS) to cope with the very small dynamic aperture of its baseline 7BA lattice design. In order to fit into the very tight longitudinal space in the injection/extraction region, and to relax the strength requirement of the kickers, five units of 300 mm long strip-line kickers are placed into a single stainless-steel vacuum chamber, to form a very compact 5-cell kicker module. Such a novel 5-cell strip-line kicker module design and its prototype development are presented in this paper. The results of the time-domain reflectometer (TDR) test, the high voltage pulse test and the beam coupling impedance test show that the strip-line kickers can meet the requirements of HEPS.

The production of dibaryons, light nuclei and hypertriton in the most central Au+Au collisions at s N N = 11.5 and 200 GeV is investigated by using a naive coalescence model. The production of light nuclei is studied and found that the production rate reduces by a factor of 330 (1200) for each extra nucleon added to nuclei at s N N = 11.5 ( 200 ) GeV . The p T integrated yield of multistrange hadrons falls exponentially as strangeness quantum number increases. We further investigate strangeness population factors S 3 , S 2 as a function of transverse momentum as well as s N N . The calculations for s N N = 11.5 GeV presented here will stimulate interest to carry out these measurements during the phase-II of beam energy scan program at STAR experiment.

Background In this retrospective cohort study based in Taiwan, we reported the current epidemiology of patients with multiple myeloma and analyzed the effect of bortezomib-based therapy on clinical outcomes. Methods We identified 5726 patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) between 2007 and 2015 in Taiwan. Privileges data from the National Health Institute Research Database was used, as it is made readily available to the public in electronic format for research purposes. Results Among them, from January 2007 to October 2011, there were 1116 multiple myeloma patients (control group: bortezomib as non-first-line drug), and there were 4610 multiple myeloma patients from November 2011 to December 2015.The results showed that in the case group the proportion of hospital deaths in the future was 15.73% (702/4464), while the proportion of hospital deaths in the control group was 19.80% (221/1116). The patient with first-line with bone marrow transplantation, the first-line without bone marrow transplantation, the non-first-line with bone marrow transplantation, the probability of hospital death risk was 0.387 times higher than that of the non-first-line without bone marrow transplantation) (P Conclusions In conclusion, our study showed that the first-line effect of bortezomib-based therapy on clinical outcomes for Taiwanese patients with multiple myeloma was better than the non-first line. To provide the most representative data on Bortezomib treatment results of MM patients achievable in Taiwan, we could prospectively collect nationwide data including detailed information. This could not only provide stage-stratified survival and disease-specific survival rates but also help to identify better clinical effects. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) was used to measure the calcium isotopic compositions of carbonaceous, ordinary, enstatite chondrites as well as eucrites and aubrites. We find that after correction for mass-fractionation by internal normalization to a fixed ^(42)Ca/^(44)Ca ratio, the ^(43)Ca/^(44)Ca and ^(46)Ca/^(44)Ca ratios are indistinguishable from terrestrial ratios. In contrast, the ^(48)Ca/^(44)Ca ratios show significant departure from the terrestrial composition (from −2 e in eucrites to +4 e in CO and CV chondrites). Isotopic anomalies in e^(48)Ca correlate with e ^(50)Ti e^(48)Ca=(1.09±0.11)×e^(50)Ti+(0.03±0.14). Further work is needed to identify the carrier phase of ^(48)Ca–^(50)Ti anomalies but we suggest that it could be perovskite and that the stellar site where these anomalies were created was also responsible for the nucleosynthesis of the bulk of the solar system inventory of these nuclides. The Earth has identical ^(48)Ca isotopic composition to enstatite chondrites (EH and EL) and aubrites. This adds to a long list of elements that display nucleosynthetic anomalies at a bulk planetary scale but show identical or very similar isotopic compositions between enstatite chondrites, aubrites, and Earth. This suggests that the inner protoplanetary disk was characterized by a uniform isotopic composition (IDUR for Inner Disk Uniform Reservoir), sampled by enstatite chondrites and aubrites, from which the Earth drew most of its constituents. The terrestrial isotopic composition for ^(17)O, ^(48)Ca, ^(50)Ti, ^(62)Ni, and ^(92)Mo is well reproduced by a mixture of 91% enstatite, 7% ordinary, and 2% carbonaceous chondrites. The Earth was not simply made of enstatite chondrites but it formed from the same original material that was later modified by nebular and disk processes. The Moon-forming impactor probably came from the same region as the other embryos that made the Earth, explaining the strong isotopic similarity between lunar and terrestrial rocks.

The transverse momentum dependent nuclear modification factors (NMF), namely $R_{CP}$, is investigated for protons produced in Au + Au at 1$A$ GeV within the framework of the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics (IQMD) model. It is found that the radial collective motion during the expansion stage affects the NMF at low transverse momentum a lot. By fitting the transverse mass spectra of protons with the distribution function from the Blast-Wave model, the magnitude of radial flow can be extracted. After removing the contribution from radial flow, the $R_{CP}$ can be regarded as a thermal one and is found to keep unitary at transverse momentum lower than 0.6 GeV/c and enhance at higher transverse momentum, which can be attributed to Cronin effect., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; aceepted by Physics Letters B

Background Patient-derived cancer organoid (PDOs) models have proven with powerful research value and significant clinical application prospects. However, we still know little about organoid models of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aims to characterize the consistency of genomic variations between the primary tumours and PDOs, and to explore utility of PDOs as preclinical models to predict the treatment response for the precision medicine. Methods Tumour samples were collected for organoid culture. Primary tumour and PDO samples were analysed by whole exon sequencing (WES). C-MET overexpression of tissue was test by immunohistochemistry. Antineoplastic drugs were tested by the PDOs. Cell viability was measured by Cell Titer Glo assay 7-10 days after drug treatment. Heatmap of log IC50 values were calculated from drug response analyses of PDOs by applying nonlinear regression (curve fit). Results A total of 7 patients (pts) (I-III stage) were enrolled. 7 paired surgical tumour and PDOs were analysed, respectively. Comparison of gene mutations of top 20 ranked genes related with lung cancer, the concordance were over 80% between tumour and PDOs in 5 pts. The concordances of the other 2 pts were less than 50%. Both tissues and PDOs harbored driver mutations in 4 pts (2 EGFR L858R, 1 EGFR EX20 ins and 1 KRAS G12C ). Drug screen was carried out by using 26 antineoplastic drugs in the 7 PDOs in vitro. Of the 2 PDOs with EGFR L858R, one displayed the most significant response to Gefitinib, the other showed resistance to Gefitinib but significant response to Osimertinib, whose matched tissue showed c-MET overexpression indicating a mechanism of resistant to Gefitinib. The PDO with EGFR EX20 ins also indicated resistance to Gefitinib but significant response to Osimertinib in accordance with public articles. Conclusions Patient-derived lung cancer organoids could provide us a practical model system for studying NSCLC and predict treatment response for personal precision medicine. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Background Metastasis is a leading cause of breast cancer mortality. The induction of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and complex oncogenic signaling is a vital step in the evolution of highly metastatic and therapeutically-intractable breast cancer; necessitating novel target discovery or development of therapeutics that target metastatic breast cells (MBCs). Methods To achieve this, this study employs a combination of in silico bioinformatics analyses, protein and transcript analyses, drug sensitivity assays, functional assays and animal studies. Results CDH11 as an inductor and/or facilitator of metastatic signaling, and biomarker of poor prognosis in MBCs. Furthermore, we showed that in the presence of CDH11-rich cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 MBC cell lines acquired enhanced metastatic phenotype with increased CDH11, β-catenin, vimentin, and fibronectin (FN) expression. exposure to anti-CDH11 antibody suppresses metastasis, reduces CDH11, FN and β-catenin expression, and abrogate the cancer stem cell (CSC)-like traits of MBC cells. Interestingly, ectopic expression of miR-335 suppressed CDH11, β-catenin and vimentin expression, in concert with attenuated metastatic and CSC potentials of the MBC cells; conversely, inhibition of miR-335 resulted in increased metastatic potential. Finally, corroborating the in silica and in vitro findings, in vivo assays showed that the administration of anti-CDH11 antibody or miR-335 mimic suppressed tumorigenesis and inhibited cancer metastasis. Conclusions These findings indicate that miR-335 mediates anti-CDH11 antibody therapy response and that an enhanced miR-335/CDH11 ratio elicits marked suppression of the MBC CSC-like and metastatic phenotypes, thus revealing a therapeutically-exploitable inverse correlation between CDH11-enhanced CSC-like and metastatic phenotype and miR-335 expression in MBCs. Thus, we highlight the therapeutic promise of humanized anti-CDH11 antibodies or miR-335-mimic, making a case for their clinical application as efficacious therapeutic option in patients with MBC. Legal entity responsible for the study The author. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure The author has declared no conflicts of interest.

This paper presents a novel approach for precisely controlling the motion of a piezo actuator embedded in a mechanical stage without using a displacement sensor. A piezo actuator has a high displacement resolution, but the positioning performance is degraded by hysteresis between the applied voltage and resultant displacement. However, an electromechanical model of a piezo actuator suggests that the charge flowing in the actuator is directly related to the dynamic response of the piezo displacement. Therefore, this study directly measured the charge stored in a piezo actuator, and achieved dynamic reference tracking of the actuator's displacement by regulating the charge flowing through the actuator to follow a predefined trajectory. This novel approach requires neither specially designed charge amplifier circuits nor implementation of an inverse hysteresis model. The complete model identification and the digital controller design procedure for a piezo-driven mechanical stage are presented. The charge feedback controller is designed according to the dynamic characteristics of both the actuator and the stage, so that instability is minimized relative to using a charge amplifier. The experimental results confirm satisfactory tracking performance, and reveal the influence of model uncertainties on the system performance.

Three-dimensional compressible Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) data of freely propagating statistically planar and statistically stationary slot-jet turbulent premixed flames has been used to assess the accuracy of the isotropy-derived correction factors, which relate the two-dimensional projections of the different terms of the Favre-averaged scalar dissipation rate transport equation with their corresponding actual three-dimensional counterparts. The accuracy of these correction factors is assessed using both simplified and detailed chemistry-based DNS data, for a range of values of Karlovitz number Ka, heat release parameter τ , and turbulent Reynolds number Ret. It is shown that the isotropic distribution of the probability density function (pdf) of the angle, ϕ , between the normal vectors of the measurement plane and of the flame surface provides a simple algebraic relation between the scalar dissipation rates evaluated in two and three dimensions (i.e. N ∼ c and N ∼ c 2 D ), independent of the considered values of Ka, τ and Ret. The isotropic relations between two-dimensional and three-dimensional counterparts of the curvature and propagation terms in the transport equation of N ∼ c are also found to work well for all the values of Ka, τ and Ret considered here. However, the relation between the value obtained from two-dimensional projection and the true three-dimensional value for the strain rate term in the N ∼ c transport equation works well only for large values of Ret and the reasons for this behaviour are explained in detail. It is found that the threshold value of Ret above which the assumption of isotropy yields an accurate relation between two-dimensional projection and three-dimensional values for the strain rate term of the dissipation rate transport equation depends on the regime of the prevailing combustion process.

In this work, the OTFTs with the nano-groove Al gate electrodes were fabricated by UV nano imprint technology. The flexible UV transparent ETFE mold was fabricated by the hot-embossing with the HSQ master mold. The nano-groove Al gate electrodes with the line/space about ~95/355nm were fabricated successfully. The performance of OTFTs was improved and the proposed process will be suitable for the future roll-to-roll process of the flexible electronics.

System-size dependence of dihadron azimuthal correlations in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collision is simulated by a multi-phase transport model. The structure of correlation functions and yields of associated particles show clear participant path-length dependences in collision systems with a partonic phase. The splitting parameter and root-mean-square width of away-side correlation functions increase with collision system size from $^{14}$N+$^{14}$N to $^{197}$Au+$^{197}$Au collisions. The double-peak structure of away-side correlation functions can only be formed in sufficient "large" collision systems under partonic phase. The contrast between the results with partonic phase and with hadron gas could suggest some hints to study onset of deconfinment., 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; Nucl. Phys. A (accepted)

This work investigated the variations of Charpy V toughness which was measured in various parts of welding joints of a 980 MPa steel. The welding joints were composed of multi-pass weld metal, heat affected zones (HAZs) and base metal. Two types of weld metals, one with inferior toughness and the other with comparable toughness to the base metal, were used to reveal the effects of weld metal property and fraction on the toughness of the welding joint as a whole. The notches of Charpy V specimens were located at various sections of the welding joints where the ligaments comprised various fractions of weld metal. The results revealed that the weld metal with inferior toughness, even in a fraction as low as 20%, caused remarkable deterioration on the impact toughness of the welding joint. The weld metal with comparable toughness had little effect on the properties of the welding joint. The microstructures and fracture surfaces were observed to analyze the mechanism of the inferior toughness in a MAG weld metal.

It is well known that the toughness in the coarse grain heat affected zone (CGHAZ) is of the lowest in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of a HSLA steel welding joint. In the present work although the grain size in the simulated CGHAZ was as large as 100–300 μm and its tensile strength and elongation were lower than those of the fine grain heat affected zone (FGHAZ), however its Charpy V impact toughness at room temperature reached 193 J, which was appreciably higher than 138 J of the simulated FGHAZ with grain size of 30 μm. This abnormal phenomenon was investigated in this paper by analyzing the micromechanism of ductile rupture in associated microstructures and taking account of the effects of stress triaxiality.

This paper investigates the mechanism of cleavage fracture in precracked specimen made of Q-T C–Mn steel at the lower shelf of ductile-to-brittle transition curves. The results reveal that the lower shelf region can be divided into three domains: (1) at the lower temperature end (−150 to −130 °C), cleavage is controlled by crack nucleation in the microscopic scale and is driven by increasing applied load which blunts the precrack tip in the macroscopic scale; (2) at moderate low temperatures (−130 to −90 °C) cleavage fracture is controlled by propagation of a second phase particle-crack into contiguous grains in the microscopic scale and is also driven by increasing applied load which further blunts the precrack tip in the macroscopic scale; (3) at the upper temperature end (−90 to −60 °C) the cleavage fracture is controlled by the propagation of the carbide crack into contiguous grains in the microscopic scale, yet in addition to the crack tip blunting for compensating the drop of the yield stress a short fibrous crack is needed to extend from the precrack tip to increase the peak normal stress and to move it closer to the precrack tip. The results also reveal that work hardening plays a key role in triggering cleavage fracture in this temperature region. The normal stress induced by dislocation pile-up impingement, which greatly enhances the applied normal stress, is the essential part of the cracking mechanism and is enhanced by increasing the applied load through strain-hardening effects.

In this paper, we evaluate the factors that influence the accuracy of lead (Pb)-isotopic ages of meteorites, and may possibly be responsible for inconsistencies between Pb-isotopic and extinct nuclide timescales of the early Solar System: instrumental mass fractionation and other possible analytical sources of error, presence of more than one component of non-radiogenic Pb, migration of ancient radiogenic Pb by diffusion and other mechanisms, possible heterogeneity of the isotopic composition of uranium (U), uncertainties in the decay constants of uranium isotopes, possible presence of “freshly synthesized” actinides with short half-life (e.g. 234U) in the early Solar System, possible initial disequilibrium in the uranium decay chains, and potential fractionation of radiogenic Pb isotopes and U isotopes caused by alpha-recoil and subsequent laboratory treatment. We review the use of 232Th/238U values to assist in making accurate interpretations of the U–Pb ages of meteorite components. We discuss recently published U–Pb dates of calcium–aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs), and their apparent disagreement with the extinct nuclide dates, in the context of capability and common pitfalls in modern meteorite chronology. Finally, we discuss the requirements of meteorites that are intended to be used as the reference points in building a consistent time scale of the early Solar System, based on the combined use of the U–Pb system and extinct nuclide chronometers.

We study the beam-energy and system-size dependence of phi meson production (using the hadronic decay mode phi -> K(+) K(-)) by comparing the new results from Cu + Cu collisions and previously reported Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 62.4 and 200 GeV measured in the STAR experiment at RHIC. Data presented in this Letter are from mid-rapidity (vertical bar y vertical bar ) and net strangeness = 2 (Xi). The enhancement for phi mesons is observed to be higher at root s(NN) = 200 GeV compared to 62.4 GeV. These observations for the produced phi(s (s) over bar) mesons clearly suggest that, at these collision energies, the source of enhancement of strange hadrons is related to the formation of a dense partonic medium in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions and cannot be alone due to canonical suppression of their production in smaller systems. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Notched specimens of a fully lamellar TiAl alloy and a duplex TiAl alloy were in situ tensile tested with repeated loading–unloading–reloading processes in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The step-by-step processes of initiation and extension of the main crack were captured by SEM. The fracture surfaces were observed and one-sector-to-one-sector related to the crack extension. Effects of loading–unloading damage on the fracture behavior were evaluated by combining the pictures of propagating crack configurations, corresponding fracture surfaces and the load locus. The results revealed the following events: (1) at the elastic regime, the loading–unloading process had negligible effect on the fracture behavior produced by subsequent reloading; (2) at the plastic regime, even at a value much lower than that of the preload, the reload extended further the existing main crack; (3) after a heavy loading–unloading process, the main crack extended and resulted in final fracture at a value of the reload, which was lower than that of the preload and (4) microcracks produced in the loading–unloading process had minor effects on the fracture behavior.

The nano-scale metallization of Au on flexible polyimide substrate by reversal imprint and lift-off process was investigated. The nano-scale mold was fabricated; the anti-adhesion property of nanometer-size Si-mold was improved and the surface free energy was calculated with the contact angle measurement. The ~150nm width Au nano-wires were successfully fabricated on Si and on flexible polyimide substrate with the proposed process. The PMMA thickness dependent trend with reversal imprinting and Au nano-wires lift-off results were also investigated by SEM analysis.

Specimens of a directionally solidified cast of a fully lamellar TiAl alloy were tensile tested using displacement-controlled procedure. Numbers of microcracks were measured for specimens after they were subjected to various preload–unload processes. Combined with detailed fracture surface observations, the following effects of microcrack-damage on fracture behavior of TiAl alloy are proposed—(1) Volumetric effect: the apparent plastic elongation incorporates both plastic strain and the elongation caused by microcracks. (2) Volumetric effect: microcracks produced in entire specimen volume decrease the apparent elastic modulus and produce a stress-softening sector of the load–displacement curve just before final fracture. (3) Facial effect: microcracks extended on a weakest cross-section decrease and determine the fracture load.

Glutamatergic synaptic transmission is a dynamic process determined by the amount of glutamate released by presynaptic sites, the clearance of glutamate in the synaptic cleft, and the properties of postsynaptic glutamate receptors. Clearance of glutamate in the synaptic cleft depends on passive diffusion and active uptake by glutamate transporters. In this study, we examined the role of glial glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1) in spinal sensory processing. Excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) of substantia gelatinosa neurons recorded from spinal slices of young adult rats were analyzed before and after GLT-1 was pharmacologically blocked by dihydrokainic acid. Inhibition of GLT-1 prolonged the EPSC duration and the EPSC decay phase. The EPSC amplitudes were increased in neurons with weak synaptic input but decreased in neurons with strong synaptic input upon inhibition of GLT-1. We suggest that presynaptic inhibition, desensitization of postsynaptic AMPA receptors, and glutamate "spillover" contributed to the kinetic change of EPSCs induced by the blockade of GLT-1. Thus, GLT-1 is a key component in maintaining the spatial and temporal coding in signal transmission at the glutamatergic synapse in substantia gelatinosa neurons.

Pyloric stenosis usually presents with symptoms, and this may lead patients to consult their physician. We evaluate whether distal gastric cancer patients with pyloric stenosis had a better outcome than those without.A total of 551 distal gastric cancer patients who received curative subtotal gastrectomy between January 1988 and December 2003 at Taipei Veterans General Hospital were analyzed. Among them, 174 patients were sorted into the pyloric stenosis group according to obstructive symptoms. Their clinicopathological features, survival and prognostic factors were evaluated.The 5-year overall and disease-free survival rate of distal third gastric adenocarcinoma for the pyloric stenosis group was significantly lower than those without pyloric stenosis. Multivariate analysis revealed the pyloric stenosis group had deeper cancer invasion (relative to pT1, RR of pT2 3.1, p=0.009; pT3 6.1, p0.001; pT4 16.5, p0.001), and more lymph node metastasis (RR 3.6; p=0.001). The pyloric stenosis group had a tendency to lymph node metastasis toward the hepatoduodenal ligament, but this did not reach statistical difference. However, the pyloric stenosis group had significantly higher lymph node metastasis in the retropancreatic region (5.17% vs. 0.53%; p=0.001).Distal gastric cancers with pyloric stenosis have worse biological behavior than those without, and consequently have a poor outcome.

With a multi-phase transport model (AMPT) with both partonic and hadronic interactions, two- and three-particle azimuthal correlations in Au+Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV have been studied by the mixing-event technique. A Mach-like structure has been observed in two- and three-particle correlations in central collisions. It has been found that both partonic and hadronic dynamical mechanisms contribute to the Mach-like structure. However, only hadronic rescattering is unable to reproduce experimental amplitude of Mach-like structure, and parton cascade process is indispensable. The results of three-particle correlation indicate a partonic Mach-like shock wave can be produced by strong parton cascade in central Au+Au collisions.

This paper describes the development of a calorimetry-based technique for monitoring of the curing of electron beam (EB) curable resins, including design of the calorimeter hardware and the development of an analytical model for calculating resin cure rates and radiation dose. Factors affecting the performance of the calorimeter were investigated. Experimental trials monitoring the curing of epoxy resin were conducted under single pass and multiple passes of EB irradiation. Results show that the developed calorimeter is a simple, inexpensive and reasonably accurate technique for monitoring the EB curing of cationic epoxies.

Glutamate is a primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian CNS. Glutamate released from presynaptic neurons is cleared from the synaptic cleft passively by diffusion and actively by glutamate transporters. In this study, the role of glutamate transporters in sensory processing in the spinal cord has been investigated in behavioral, in vivo and in vitro experiments. Intrathecal application of a non-selective glutamate transport inhibitor, L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid (10 microl of 100 microM solution) induced hypersensitivity to peripheral mechanical and thermal stimuli. Topical application of L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid (100 microM) onto the dorsal surface of the L3-L6 spinal cord increased spontaneous activities, innocuous and noxious stimulus-evoked responses and after-discharges of wide dynamic range neurons in the L4-5 spinal segments. Whole cell recordings made from superficial dorsal horn neurons in an isolated whole spinal cord from newborn rats (2-3 weeks old) revealed that bath-applied L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid (100 microM) produced partial membrane depolarization, increased spontaneous action potentials with decreased neuronal membrane resistance and time constant, but without significant changes of capacitance. Finally, the amplitude and duration of primary afferent evoked-excitatory postsynaptic currents recorded from neurons in the substantia gelatinosa in the spinal slices from young adult rats (6-8 weeks old) were increased in the presence of L-trans-pyrrolidine-2,4-dicarboxylic acid (100 microM). This study indicates that glutamate transporters regulate baseline excitability and responses of dorsal horn neurons to peripheral stimulation, and suggests that dysfunction of glutamate transporters may contribute to certain types of pathological pain.

We hypothesize that pathological aggression, a complex behavioral disorder, in adolescents may in part involve polymorphisms of the dopaminergic system. While a number of neurotransmitter systems must be involved, due to polygenic inheritance, one major pathway should involve the dopaminergic system. Advances in our knowledge of the neurobiology of aggression and violence have given rise to rational pharmacological treatments for these behaviors. The main biological systems that are known to be involved are certain reward neurotransmitters including: serotonin, opioid peptides, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and the catecholamines (dopamine and norepinephrine). It is our notion that pathological aggressive behavior is in part similar mechanistically to other forms of impulsive behaviors such as pathological gambling. By analogy to drug dependence, it has been speculated that the underlying pathology in pathological gambling is a reduction in the sensitivity of the reward system. While studying pathological gamblers and controls during a guessing game using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Reuter et al. observed a reduction of ventral striatal and ventromedial prefrontal activation in the pathological gamblers that were negatively correlated with gambling severity. Subsequently, linking hypo activation of these areas to disease severity. A positive correlation of both the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) and the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) polymorphisms were observed with pathological violence in adolescents in a blinded clinical trial. Thus, this and other cited work preliminary suggest a role for both the DRD2 and DAT genes in pathological aggressive behavior. We further hypothesize that follow-up gene research in this area, albeit premature, resulting in confirmation of positive correlations with dopaminergic polymorphisms, and utilizing highly screened controls (eliminating any addictive, compulsive and impulsive behaviors in both proband and family) may have important ramifications in our young population.

We decided to test the hypothesis that possibly by combining a narcotic antagonist and amino-acid therapy consisting of an enkephalinase inhibitor (D-phenylalanine) and neurotransmitter precursors (L-amino- acids) to promote neuronal dopamine release might enhance compliance in methadone patients rapidly detoxified with the narcotic antagonist Trexan (Dupont, Delaware). In this regard, Thanos et al. [J. Neurochem. 78 (2001) 1094] and associates found increases in the dopamine D2 receptors (DRD2) via adenoviral vector delivery of the DRD2 gene into the nucleus accumbens, significantly reduced both ethanol preference (43%) and alcohol intake (64%) of ethanol preferring rats, which recovered as the DRD2, returned to baseline levels. This DRD2 overexpression similarly produced significant reductions in ethanol non-preferring rats, in both alcohol preference (16%) and alcohol intake (75%). This work further suggests that high levels of DRD2 may be protective against alcohol abuse [JAMA 263 (1990) 2055; Arch, Gen. Psychiatr. 48 (1991) 648]. The DRD2 A1 allele has also been shown to associate with heroin addicts in a number of studies. In addition, other dopaminergic receptor gene polymorphisms have also associated with opioid dependence. For example, Kotler et al. [Mol. Phychiatr. 3 (1997) 251] showed that the 7 repeat allele of the DRD4 receptor is significantly overpresented in the opioid-dependent cohort and confers a relative risk of 2.46. This has been confirmed by Li et al. [Mol. Psychiatry 2 (1997) 413] for both the 5 and 7 repeat alleles in Han Chinese case control sample of heroin addicts. Similarly Duaux et al. [Mol. Psychiatry 3 (1998) 333] in French Heroin addicts, found a significant association with homozygotes alleles of the DRD3-Bal 1. A study from NIAAA, provided evidence which strongly suggests that DRD2 is a susceptibility gene for substance abusers across multiple populations (2003). Moreover, there are a number of studies utilizing amino-acid and enkephalinase inhibition therapy showing reduction of alcohol, opiate, cocaine and sugar craving behavior in human trials (see Table 1). Over the last decade, a new rapid method to detoxify either methadone or heroin addicts utilizing Trexan sparked interest in many treatment centers throughout the United States, Canada, as well as many countries on a worldwide basis. In using the combination of Trexan and amino-acids, results were dramatic in terms of significantly enhancing compliance to continue taking Trexan. The average number of days of compliance calculated on 1000 patients, without amino-acid therapy, using this rapid detoxification method is only 37 days. In contrast, the 12 subjects tested, receiving both the Trexan and amino-acid therapy was relapse-free or reported taking the combination for an average of 262 days (p < 0.0001F). Thus coupling amino-acid therapy and enkephalinase inhibition while blocking the delta-receptors with a pure narcotic antagonist may be quite promising as a novel method to induce rapid detox in chronic methadone patients. This may also have important ramifications in the treatment of both opiate and alcohol-dependent individuals, especially as a relapse prevention tool. It may also be interesting too further test this hypothesis with the sublingual combination of the partial opiate mu receptor agonist buprenorphrine.

In kidney transplantation, obesity is associated with poorer graft survival and patient survival. Bariatric surgery may provide benefit for these patients, not only by inducing weight loss, but also via reduction of diabetes. We report a case of morbid obesity, poorly controlled new-onset diabetes mellitus, and gout after kidney transplantation that was treated with laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy 3 years after kidney transplantation. After 1 year of follow-up, 76% excessive body weight loss was attained. No complications were noted. The operation also provided total remission of diabetes and gout as well as good graft survival. Based on our experience, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy may be a feasible treatment for obese patients after renal transplantation to help resolve obesity and control new-onset diabetes. However, the timing of operation and the long-term potential for graft and patient survivals with this operation require further study.

Using improved analytical techniques, which reduce the Re blanks by factors of 8 to 10, we report new Re-Os data on low Re and low PGE pallasites (PAL-anom) and IIIAB irons. The new pallasite samples nearly double the observed range in Re/Os for pallasites and allow the determination of an isochron of slope 0.0775 ± 0.0008 (T = 4.50 ± 0.04 Ga, using the adjusted λ^(187)Re = 1.66 × 10^(−11) a^(−1)) and initial (^(187)Os/^(188)Os)_0 = 0.09599 ± 0.00046. If the data on different groups of pallasites (including the “anomalous” pallasites) are considered to define a whole-rock isochron, their formation would appear to be distinctly younger than for the iron meteorites by ∼60 Ma. Five IIIAB irons (Acuna, Bella Roca, Chupaderos, Grant, and Bear Creek), with Re contents ranging from 0.9 to 2.8 ppb, show limited Re/Os fractionation and plot within errors on the IIAB iron meteorite isochron of slope 0.07848 ± 0.00018 (T = 4.56 ± 0.01 Ga) and initial (^(187)Os/^(188)Os)_0 = 0.09563 ± 0.00011. Many of the meteorites were analyzed also for Pd-Ag and show ^(107)Ag enrichments correlated with Pd/Ag, requiring early formation and fractionation of the FeNi metal, in a narrow time interval, after injection of live ^(107)Pd (t_(1/2) = 6.5 Ma) into the solar nebula. Based on Pd-Ag, the typical range in relative ages of these meteorites is ≤10 Ma. The Pd-Ag results suggest early formation and preservation of the ^(107)Pd-^(107)Ag systematics, both for IIIAB irons and for pallasites, while the younger Re-Os apparent age for pallasites suggests that the Re-Os system in pallasites was subject to re-equilibration. The low Re and low PGE pallasites show significant Re/Os fractionation (higher Re/Os) as the Re and PGE contents decrease. By contrast, the IIIAB irons show a restricted range in Re/Os, even for samples with extremely low Re and PGE contents. There is a good correlation of Re and Ir contents. The correlation of Re and Os contents for IIIAB irons shows a similar complex pattern as observed for IIAB irons (Morgan et al., 1995), and neither can be ascribed to a continuous fractional crystallization process with uniform solid-metal/liquid-metal distribution coefficients.

The defect field due to a flaw in the conducting slab is studied numerically and experimentally in this report. It was found that the magnitude of the defect field exhibits a nearly exponential decrease with the increasing flaw depth, and the phase of the defect field shows a linear dependence on the flaw depth. The calculated defect field was compared with the results measured by using a high- T c SQUID.

Polypyrrole (PPy) films were uniformly electropolymerized over each carbon nanotube of the well-aligned carbon nanotube arrays. For comparison, PPy films were also coated on flat metallic titanium (Ti) and platinum (Pt) substrates by the same technique. The synthesis and the redox performance of the PPy films were conducted by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The structural characterization including the thickness and uniformity of the PPy films was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is observed that the coating of the PPy film over carbon nanotubes is much faster than that on flat Ti/Pt surface. Furthermore, the redox performance of the PPy-coated carbon nanotube electrodes over flat Ti/Pt electrodes was significantly improved due to the high accessible surface area of the carbon nanotubes in the aligned arrays, especially in large film formation charge ( Q film ). It is very promising that the electrode developed in this study could be used as high performance electrode in rechargeable batteries.

Di-hadron azimuthal correlations relative to the reaction plane have been investigated in Au + Au collisions at s N N = 200 GeV/c by using a multi-phase transport model (AMPT). Such reaction plane azimuthal angle dependent correlations can shed light on path-length effect of energy loss of high transverse momentum particles propagating through the hot dense medium.

Sub-quarter-micron grating patterns with period as fine as 0.22 @mm have been obtained by combining DUV holographic lithography and silylation technique for the first time. A traditional chemical amplified resist (JSR KRF/K2G) originally working for single layer process at 248 nm wavelength was used for silylation. The silylation selectivity was improved by process control and a photoresist pattern with an aspect ration of 4 was obtained.

Welsh onion ethanol extracts were tested for their inhibitory activity against the growth and aflatoxin production of Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. The survival of spores of A. flavus and A. parasiticus depended on both the extract concentration and the exposure time of the spores to the Welsh onion extracts. The mycelial growth of two tested fungi cultured on yeast extract-sucrose broth was completely inhibited in the presence of the Welsh onion ethanol extract at a concentration of 10 mg/ml during 30 days of incubation at 25 degrees C. The extracts added to the cultures also inhibited aflatoxin production at a concentration of 10 mg/ml or permitted only a small amount of aflatoxin production with extract concentration of 5 mg/ml after 2 weeks of incubation. Welsh onion ethanol extracts showed more pronounced inhibitory effects against the two tested aflatoxin-producing fungi than did the same added levels of the preservatives sorbate and propionate at pH values near 6.5.

We have investigated the Re-Os system for samples of whole rock, metal, and sulfide from ordinary chondrites. Using closed-system analytical techniques, we found complete exchange between sample and tracer isotopes for silicate-containing samples and obtained precise and reliable Re-Os concentration measurements. Results on two Group IVA iron meteorites and on a silicate-rich iron (Steinbach, IVA-AN) are consistent with the IVA-IVB isochron and support the previous observation that IVA-IVB irons may be slightly older than IIAB irons. Data on whole-rock fragments and metal-rich separates from the St. Severin chondrite (LL6) show a large range in ^(1870Re/^(188)Os and in ^(187)Os/^(188)Os, which makes possible, in principle, the determination of a Re-Os internal isochron on a chondrite, for the first time. This Re-Os fractionation may be due to partial melting of FeNiS and macroscopic redistribution of metal and sulfide. The St. Severin data show a good correlation line on a ^(187)Re-^(187)Os evolution diagram. If this is considered to represent an internal isochron, it gives an age T = 4.68 ± 0.15 AE [λ(^(187)Re) = 1.64 × 10^(−11) a^(−1)] and an initial (^(187)Os/^(188)Os)0 = 0.0953 ± 0.0013. This age is in agreement with but slightly older than the more precise ^(187)Re-^(187)Os age for the IIAB irons as well as for irons from other groups (T = 4.61 ± 0.01 AE). A St. Severin sulfide nodule has very low Re and Os concentrations and shows a young Re-Os model age (2.3 AE), indicating recent element remobilization. Whole rock and metal-rich separates of H-Group chondrites (H3 to H6) yield restricted ranges in ^(187)Re/^(188)Os (0.42–0.47) and ^(187)Os/^(188)Os (0.128–0.133). There is a systematic difference between Re/Os in the metal extracted from a chondrite and the bulk chondrite. This shows that there is a small but significant Re-Os fractionation within subsystems contained in the chondrites. From whole rock samples of H Group chondrites we calculate a mean ^(187)Re/^(188)Os = 0.423 ± 0.007 and ^(187)Os/^(188)Os = 0.12863 ± 0.00046, which may characterize the evolution of an average chondritic reservoir for Re-Os. The ordinary chondrite data plot close to the IIAB isochron, although the deviations found are larger than found for the irons. The Re-Os chronometer in iron meteorites is apparently controlled by the Re-Os fractionation due to fractional crystallization of liquid metal. Re-Os ages of iron meteorites give the time of crystallization of metal segregations and cores of early planetary bodies. In contrast, the behavior in ordinary chondrites, while also dominated by the metal phases, must reflect fractionation and transport on a local macroscopic scale within the chondrites between the metal phases after aggregation, due to partial melting of FeNiS or represent variable Re-Os fractionation of the metal phases prior to the accretion of the chondrites. However, for St. Severin, we attribute the major Re-Os fractionation to early heating of the meteorite, above the Fe-FeS eutectic. We do not consider that the Re-Os fractionation observed in other chondrites is due to the redistribution of Re and Os during chondrite metamorphism (including shock) but it may plausibly represent earlier stages of Re-Os fractionation for the different FeNi metal constituents prior to accretion.

In modal identification, the use of different actuator and sensor locations results in different frequency response functions (FRFs) and consequently affects the modes shown on the FRF plots. This paper presents a method of placing sensors and actuators to obtain reliable measured data for estimating the modal parameters. The method is based on proposed controllability and observability measures for second-order linear systems, which are suitable for identification purposes and have a physical interpretation on the FRF plots. These measures, combined with an objective criterion, provide a method for ranking the effectiveness of alternative actuator and sensor distributions and hence a rational basis for choosing their locations. The method is applied successfully to the selection of actuator and sensor locations for a set of target modes for the structural characterisation of a simulated system. Finally, an iterative procedure for performing modal surveys is proposed.

Autoignition of a hydrogen-air scalar mixing layer in homogeneous turbulence is studied using direct numerical simulation (DNS). An initial counterflow of unmixed nitrogen-diluted hydrogen and heated air is perturbed by two-dimensional homogeneous turbulence. The temperature of the heated airstream is chosen to be 1100 K, which is substantially higher than the crossover temperature at which the rates of the chain-branching and termination reactions are equal. Three different turbulence intensities are tested in order to assess the effect of the characteristic flow time on the ignition delay. For each condition, a simulation without heat release is also performed. The ignition delay determined with and without heat release is shown to be almost identical up to the point of ignition for all of the turbulence intensities tested, and the predicted ignition delays agree well within a consistent error band. It is also observed that the ignition kernel always occurs where hydrogen is focused, and the peak concentration of HO2 is aligned well with the scalar dissipation rate. The dependence of the ignition delay on turbulence intensity is found to be nonmonotonic. For weak to moderate turbulence, the ignition is facilitated by turbulence via enhanced mixing, while for stronger turbulence, whose timescale is substantially smaller than the ignition delay, the ignition is retarded due to excessive scalar dissipation, and hence diffusive loss, at the ignition location. However, for the wide range of initial turbulence fields studied, the variation in ignition delay due to the corresponding variation in turbulence intensity appears to be quite small.

The preparation and preliminary evaluation of 2 , an analog of sandramycin, are detailed. Although 2 was typically 4–10x less potent than sandramycin against leukemia cell lines, it was found to be 1–10,000x more potent against melanomas, carcinomas, and adenocarcinomas exhibiting typical IC 50 values of 200-1 pM and placing it among the most potent agents identified to date.

By plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition a-Si 1 − x Ge x :H thin films of large x have been prepared which possess optical, electrical and structural properties that are greatly improved over any yet reported. This work extends our previous work on improving the properties of a-Ge:H [W.A. Turner et al., J. Appl. Phys. 67 (1990) 7430]. Steady-state photoconductivity measurements yield an ημτ of (1 to 3) × 10 −7 cm 2 V −1 for 1.00 ≥ x ≥ 0.75 and (6 to 10) × 10 −8 cm 2 V −1 for 0.75 ≥ x ≥ 0.50. Photocarrier grating measurements yield an ambipolar diffusion length much greater than previously obtained for alloys of large x . The electronic state defect density, as determined by drive level capacitance measurements, decreases from 5.3 × 10 16 cm −3 for x = 1.00 to 6.5 × 10 15 cm −3 for x = 0.57. The Urbach parameter, E 0 , was found to be 41 ± 2 meV for a-Ge:H and 45 ± 2 meV for the alloys. Small angle X-ray scattering measurements reveal a structure that is nearly as homogeneous as device quality a-Si:H. Much of the improvement in electronic and optical properties is associated with the reduction of heterogeneities in the structure. The elimination of columnar structure is attributed to increased ion bombardment during growth and conditions which yield a high electron temperature in the discharge plasma, resulting in favorable discharge chemistry.