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Low temperature (LT) is one of the major factors that limit crop production and reduce yield. To better understand the cold-tolerance mechanism in the plantains, a sensitive cultivar Williams (Musa acuminata AAA cv. Williams) and a tolerant cultivar Cachaco (Musa paradisiaca ABB cv. Dajiao) were used. LT resulted in increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content, elevated contents of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide radical (O 2 ·− ), and decreased photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) and net photosynthetic rate (P N), but cv. Cachaco showed better LT tolerance than cv. Williams. After LT treatment for 120 h, total scavenging capability (DPPH· scavenging capability) in Williams showed a significant decrease but no significant alternations was found in Cachaco. Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and peroxidase (POD) displayed a significant increase but superoxide dismutase (SOD) showed no significant alternations and catalase (CAT) showed a significant decrease in Cachaco after 120 h of LT treatment. All the four antioxidant enzymes above showed a significant decrease in Williams after 120 h of LT treatment. Our results suggest that higher activities of APX, POD, SOD, and DPPH· scavenging capability to a certain extent can be used to explain the higher cold tolerance in the plantain, which would provide a theoretical guidance for bananas production and screening cold-resistant variety.

An H2O:CO2:NH3 = 1:1:1 ice mixture, used as a model mixture for cometary and interstellar ices, was irradiated with ultraviolet (UV)/extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photons in the broad 4–20 eV (62–310 nm) energy range at 16 K. The desorbed species were detected in situ by mass spectrometry during photo-irradiation, and a quartz microbalance was used as a substrate to measure the mass of material remaining on the surface. The total mass desorption for this H2O:CO2:NH3 = 1:1:1 ice mixture at 16 K was measured to be 1.8 × 10−18 μg photon−1, which is comparable to the 1.5 × 10−18 μg photon−1 measured for pure H2O ice irradiated under the same conditions. The main desorbed species produced during the photolysis of the ices were H2, NH 2 • , OH•, CO, and O2, along with the starting components H2O, NH3, and CO2. We also tentatively assigned minor mass peaks to larger species such as OCN•/OCN−, HNCO, CH4, H2CO, CH3OH, and HCOOH. This result supports the scenario in which complex organic molecules can be formed in cometary and/or astrophysical ices and desorbed to the gas phase, and helps to better understand the photochemical processes occurring at the surface of Solar System icy bodies such as comets, as well as in cold astrophysical environments such as star-forming regions and protostars.

SUMMARY Inflammatory responses to microbial products are amplified by a pathway mediated by triggering a receptor expressed on the myeloid cells (TREM)-1. Relatively a few studies have been performed to investigate the role of TREM-1 in macrophage activation in response to parasitic infection. In this study, we delineate the role of the innate immunoreceptor TREM-1 in the parasite Schistosoma mansoni infection model from early to late (chronic) phases of infection. Flow cytometry analysis revealed gradual increase in the production of TREM-1 protein on CD11b + myeloid cells, with maximum production at 5 weeks p.i. Similar results in the pattern of TREM-1 mRNA expressions in splenic CD11b + cells from infected mice were obtained by real-time PCR. However, unlike in spleen, the TREM-1 mRNA expression in liver tissue showed no significant increase throughout the infection, including periods of maximum production of parasite eggs. Administration of schistosoma egg homogenate antigen to stimulate J774A.1 cells inhibited TREM-1 expression on the surface, indicating that some substances of the Schistosma eggs may inhibit the expression of TREM-1 on macrophages, lowering the macrophage-mediated inflammatory response of infected hosts.

Infection with high-risk types (type 16 or type 18) of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) increases a patient's risk of cervical cancer. Given the importance of the cervix and the severe side effects resulting from traditional cancer therapies, this study aimed to achieve targeted inhibition of viral oncogenes in tumor cells using small interfering RNAs (siRNA). To accomplish this, we developed nine siRNAs against either the E6 or E7 genes of HPV-16 or HPV-18 in several combinations, yielding siRNAs targeting 16E6, 16E7, 18E6 and 18E7. We measured the effectiveness of the siRNAs by examining E6 or E7 mRNA expression after transfection of the siRNAs into HPV-positive CaSki (HPV-16) or HeLa (HPV-18) cell lines. We found that the HPV-siRNAs significantly reduced cell growth and colony formation in both cell lines. Flow cytometry analysis revealed a significant increase in apoptosis. The siRNAs had no effect on cell growth, colony formation or apoptosis in HPV-negative C33A cells, demonstrating a lack of off-target effects. In addition, an in vivo xenograft study showed that intra-tumoral injection of the siRNAs reduced tumor growth in BALB/c nude mice. In conclusion, we have developed highly specific and potent HPV-siRNAs that successfully suppress tumor growth and induce apoptosis in HPV-positive cervical cancer cells. siRNA treatment has potential for further development as an adjuvant therapy for cervical cancer.

The anatomical form of the teeth and the density of the base bone differ greatly at different tooth positions. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the effect of tooth position variation on the apical occlusal stress because it would be helpful to understand the mechanism of occusal force transduction along the mandible. Epoxy resin models of seven different occlusal types set up with identical plastic teeth were employed to determine the stress directions and magnitudes in the apical area under 2.0 Kg of vertical load. Both the values and directions of the main stress were measured. Our results indicated that variation of the tooth position had no effect on the directions of principle stress around the apex area in the symmetrical occlusal type. For the asymmetrical occlusal type, the mesio-distal and the lingual-buccal directions of anterior teeth were found to be affected by variations in tooth position. The magnitude of the apical main stress was also apparently altered with changes of tooth position, but the differences were insignificant with occlusal types. Therefore, we conclude that variation in the tooth position could affect the direction of the main apical stress when the symmetry of the occlusion type was also involved. In contrast, the apical stress magnitude was much more related to tooth position than to occlusal symmetry.

We report on multi-bands VLBA polarimetric observations of NRAO 530 in February 1997. Total intensity, EVPA distributions at all these frequencies are presented. Model fitting has been performed, from which the fitted southmost component A is confirmed as the core of the radio structure with relatively high brightness temperature and hard spectrum between 15 and 43 GHz in comparison with the central component B of dominant flux. The relatively high degree of polarization for the component A may arise from its complex radio structure, which is resolvable at 86 GHz. As a contrast, the component B shows a well fitted power-law spectrum with the spectral index of about -0.5, and a linear correlation between EVPAs and wavelength square with the observed RM of about -1062 rad m^{-2}, indicating its structural singleness. Assuming that the component B has a comparable degree of polarization without depolarization at these frequencies, the decrease in fractional polarization with wavelength mainly results from opacity and Faraday rotation, in which the opacity plays quite a large part of role. A spine-sheath like structure in fractional polarization is detected covering almost the whole emission region at 5 and 8 GHz. The linear polarization at 5 GHz shows 3 separate polarized emission regions with alternately aligned and orthogonal polarization vectors down the jet. The polarization goes to zero between the top two regions, with the highest polarization level occurring at the top and bottom. The 5 and 8 GHz images show EVPA changes across the width of the jet as well as along the jet. These complex polarimetric properties can be explained in terms of either the presence of a large helical magnetic field or tangled magnetic fields compressed and sheared down the jet.

The authors successfully synthesized titanium oxide (TiO2) nanopowder with visible-light photocatalytic ability by low-pressure flat-flame metal organic chemical vapor condensation method. In order to confirm that carbon doping is a viable mechanism for the visible-light absorption of the powder prepared by this method, they modify the process by total exclusion of nitrogen usage to eliminate the nitrogen doping possibility. Since nitrogen is avoided in the process, the visible-light absorption cannot be due to nitrogen doping. They also found that the nanopowder formed has a single phase of anatase. Thus the nanopowder does not have anatase/rutile interface, and the authors can eliminate the possibility of visible-light absorption by the anatase/rutile interface. The visible-light absorption should thus be resort to the carbon doping. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies show the presence of several carbon related bonds except Ti–C bond. This suggests that the carbon does not incorporate into the TiO...

A comparative study is performed for the direct and iterative methods for updating the structural matrices based on measured data. The former was derived from the orthogonality constraints by replacing the modal vector of concern by the modal matrix in computing the correction matrices.1The iterative method used is the improved inverse eigensenstivity method.2Through the numerical studies, it was demonstrated that both methods yield good results. However, the direct updating method is found to be more suitable for engineering applications due to its ease in treating multi-modes and higher efficiency, especially for complicated structures.

The influence of dietary supplementation with blended essential oil on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles and fecal characteristics was evaluated in 125 crossed ((DurocxYorkshire)xLandrace) pigs (6.21±0.20 kg initial body weight and 21 d average age). The pigs were allotted to the following treatments: i) NC (antibiotic free diet), ii) PC (NC diet+44 ppm tylosin), iii) T1 (NC diet+0.1% essential oil), iv) T2 (NC diet+0.1% essential oil (with 0.3% Benzoic acid)) and v) T3 (NC+22 ppm tylosin and 0.05% essential oil). Average daily gain (ADG) was improved in the T2 group on d 14 (p

This study was conducted to determine the effects of different copper (inorganic and organic) and energy (tallow and glycerol) sources on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, gas emission, diarrhea incidence, and fecal copper concentration in growing pigs by using a 2x2 factorial design. In this trial, 96 pigs (63 d of age) were employed, with an average initial weight of 28.36±1.14 kg. The dietary treatments were i) basal diet with 134 ppm copper (Korea recommendation) as CuSO 4 +tallow; ii) basal diet with 134 ppm Cu as CuSO 4 +glycerol; iii) basal diet with 134 ppm copper as CuMet+tallow; and iv) basal diet with 134 ppm copper as CuMet+ glycerol. Throughout the entire experimental period, no differences were noted among treatment groups with regard to the magnitude of improvement in ADG (average daily gain), ADFI (average daily feed intake) and G/F (gain:feed) ratios. The nitrogen (N) digestibility of pigs fed on diets containing organic copper was improved as compared with that observed in pigs fed on diets containing inorganic copper (p

In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a novel method to characterize waveguide mode profiles in arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) devices by utilizing a low-coherence interferometric measurement. Our method calculates the waveguide mode profile from its far-field diffraction pattern obtained by the low-coherence interferometric measurement utilizing AWG as a testing vehicle. The waveguide mode profile and its far-field diffraction pattern follow the Fourier transformation relationship. Detailed formulation and analysis procedures are presented in this paper. Experimental results of waveguide mode profiles for Gaussian waveguides and multimode interference waveguides are also shown. This method is very effective in characterizing complex waveguide designs in advanced AWG devices.

This study examined the effect of ingesting a high or low glycemic index (GI) meal during a short-term recovery period on endurance running capacity. On two occasions, seven men (age 30.0+/-2.6 yr, body mass 60.7+/-1.4 kg, VO (2max) 62.1+/-2.2 ml.kg (-1).min (-1)) ran at 70% VO (2max) on a level treadmill for 90 min (R1), followed by a 4 h recovery (REC) and a further exhaustive run at the same speed (R2). Twenty minutes after R1, each subject consumed an isoenergetic meal containing either high GI (HGI, GI=77) or low GI (LGI, GI=37) carbohydrate providing 1.5 g CHO.kg (-1) BM. During REC, subjects also ingested a prescribed volume of water equal to 150% of their BM loss during R1. The duration of R2 in the HGI trial was 15% longer than in the LGI trial (HGI: 86.6+/-10.7 min vs. LGI: 75.2+/-8.1 min, p

In this article, the authors report that titania nanopowders synthesized by low-pressure flat-flame metal-organic chemical vapor condensation show visible-light photocatalytic ability. Using acetylene and oxygen as fuel and oxidizer for the flame, the titanium isopropoxide was decomposed and oxidized, and the nanoparticles of titania were formed. From the methylene blue decomposition study they found that the powder synthesized under low precursor feed rate possesses high photocatalytic efficiency under illumination of visible light. The visible-light absorption is resort to the presence of carbon since no other chemical elements were found associated with titania. The presence of carbon species is coincident with the presence of visible-light absorption and carbon is in the form of C–C bond. It also suggests that carbon species are associated with catalytic site on anatase surface so that carriers generated by photon absorption by the carbon species can transfer quickly onto catalytic sites and perform t...

Fifty-four cross-bred ((Landrace×Yorkshire)×Duroc) pigs (13.47±0.03 kg average initial BW) were evaluated in a 42 d growth assay to determine the effects of the fermented soy product (FSP). The dietary treatments were: FSP 0 (corn-soybean basal diet), FSP 2.5 (FSP 0 amended with 2.5% FSP), and FSP 5 (FSP 0 amended with 5% FSP). The body weight at the end of the experiment increased linearly (p = 0.05) as the FSP levels in the diets increased. In addition, the ADG and G/F ratio also increased (linear effect, p = 0.06) as the levels of FSP increased. However, there was no effect of FSP on ADFI or DM digestibility (p>0.05). Furthermore, the N digestibility increased as the FSP levels increased (linear effect, p = 0.003), although the total protein concentration in the blood was not affected by FSP (p>0.05). Additionally, the albumin concentration was higher in pigs fed diets that contained 2.5% FSP than in pigs in the control group or the FSP 5 group (quadratic effect, p = 0.07). The creatinine concentrations were also evaluated at d 42 and found to be greater in pigs that received the FSP 2.5 diet (quadratic effect, p = 0.09). Moreover, the creatinine concentration increased linearly in response to FSP treatment (p = 0.09). Finally, although the BUN concentration on the final day of the experiment was greater in pigs that received the FSP 2.5 diet (quadratic effect, p = 0.10), there were no incremental differences in BUN concentrations among groups (p>0.05). Taken together, the results of this study indicate that feeding FSP to pigs during the late nursery phase improves growth performance and N digestibility.

Kaposiform haemangioendothelioma is a rare soft-tissue tumour of infants and children, and presents as a moderately aggressive malignancy. We present the MRI findings of a histologically proven case of Kaposiform haemangioendothelioma without Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon or typical skin changes. Our case also reveals that the multiple foci of the cutaneous tumour have different MRI morphologies. These findings have not been reported in the literature to date.

Near-infrared JHK' and H(2) nu = 1-0 S (1) imaging observations of the star-forming regions Sh2-157 and Sh2-152 are presented. The data reveal a cluster of young stars associated with H(2) line emission in each region. Additionally, many IR point sources are found in the dense core of each molecular cloud. Most of these sources exhibit infrared color excesses typical of T Tauri stars, Herbig Ae/Be stars, and protostars. Several display the characteristics of massive stars. We calculate histograms of the K'-magnitude and [H - K'] color for all sources, as well as two-color and color-magnitude diagrams. The stellar populations inside and outside the clusters are similar, suggesting that these systems are rather evolved. Shock-driven H(2) emission knots are also detected, which may be related to evident subclusters in an earlier evolutionary stage.

For Exp. 1, 120 ((YorkshirexLandrace)xDuroc) weaned pigs (7.96±0.01 kg average initial BW, 21 days weaning) were used in a 28 d-growth assay to determine the effects of replacing soy protein concentrate (SPC) with fermented soy protein (FSP) in a starter diet (d 0 to 7) on the growth performance, apparent fecal amino acid digestibility and subsequent performance in weaned pigs. Dietary treatments included: i) FSP0 (basal diet; whey-skim milk powder-SPC based diet); ii) FSP5 (replacing SPC with 5% FSP); iii) FSP10 (replacing SPC with 10% FSP). Pigs were fed the phase I diet for 7 days, and then each group was fed a common commercial diet for 21 days to determine the effect of previous diet on subsequent performance. Average daily gain (ADG) from d 5 to 7 (linear effect, p = 0.01) and d 7 to 14 (linear effect, p 0.05). Average daily feed intake (ADFI) was higher in pigs fed with the 5% FSP diet than those fed with the other diets at d 0 to 2 post-weaning (quadratic effect, p = 0.05). Also, for the entire period of phase I (d 0 to 7), pigs consumed more 5% FSP diet compared to other treatments (quadratic effect, p = 0.03). Gain/feed (G/F) was not affected by dietary SPC or FSP in phase I and subsequent periods, but G/F from d 5 to 7 after weaning was improved linearly (p = 0.04) as dietary FSP level increased. Pigs fed with 10% FSP also improved G/F compared with those fed only SPC (p 0.05). Among essential amino acids, apparent digestibility of ileal arginine (Arg), lysine (Lys), methionine (Met) and phenylalanine (Phe) were improved as the FSP level increased (linear effect, p

The main purpose of this article is to present a method for the dimensional synthesis of Stephenson-III motion generators without order, circuit, and branch defects. Using the concepts of the coupler curve of a four-bar linkage, the accessible region of a dyad, and the geometric feature of dead-centre configurations, a procedure is proposed for identifying the different circuits and branches of a Stephenson-III mechanism. Using the characteristics of order, circuit, and branch defects, the constraint equations to avoid them are presented. An optimization approach is proposed for the dimensional synthesis of defect-free Stephenson-III motion generators. An example is given to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method.

Effects of dietary δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) supplementation on serum iron status, blood characteristics, egg production and quality were examined in laying hens in an 8-week feeding trail. Two hundred and forty (Hy-line brown, 40-week-old) layers were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments with ten replications (six layers in adjacent three cages). Dietary treatments included: 1) CON (basal diet), 2) ALA (CON+ALA 5 ppm), 3) ALA2 (CON+ALA 10 ppm) and 4) ALA3 (CON+ALA 15 ppm). All nutrient levels of diets were formulated to meet or exceed NRC (1994) recommendations for laying hens. During the entire experimental period, differences of serum iron concentration and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) were significantly increased in ALA1 supplemented treatment (quadratic effect, p

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and oil containing unsaturated fatty acid supplementation on egg production and quality in laying hens. Two hundred-eighty eight, 36 week old ISA brown commercial layer, were employed in a 5 week feeding trial. Dietary treatments are 1) BO (basal diet + 1% soybean oil + 1% oat), 2) BS (basal diet + 1% safflower oil + 1% oat), 3) BF (basal diet + 1% free fatty acid + 1% oat), 4) CD (basal diet + 1% CLA containing diglyceride + 1% oat), 5) CT (basal diet + 1% CLA containing triglyceride + 1% oat) and 6) CP (basal diet + 1% CLA by-product + 1% soybean oil). For overall period, hen-day egg production was not significant among treatments (P>0.05). Egg shell breaking strength at 3 weeks in CP treatment was significantly lower than BS, BF, CD and CT treatments (P

In this work, we show that the irradiation of naphthalene (C 10 H 8 ), the smallest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), mixed in a H 2 O+NH 3 ice mixture with 4-20 eV (62-310 nm, i.e. in the ultraviolet/extreme-ultraviolet ranges) photons at 15 K leads to the formation of an organic residue where many amino acids were identified. However, the distribution of these amino acids is different from what was reported in previous laboratory experiments where ice mixtures containing other sources of carbon (CO, CO 2 , CH 4 and CH 3 OH) were irradiated with ultraviolet photons, indicating that amino acids can be formed via several mechanisms. This result also implies that naphthalene, and probably other PAHs, constitute a non-negligible source of interstellar carbon likely to form organic molecules after photolysis, supporting a scenario where molecules of biological interest could be formed in many different astrophysical environments before being delivered to the early Earth by meteorites.

Background Pulmonary veins (PVs) contain cardiomyocytes with a high arrhythmogenicity for inducing atrial fibrillation. The swelling-activated outwardly rectifying Cl− currents (ICl,swell) are important in the electrical activity of cardiomyocytes. This study was to investigate whether ICl,swell play a role in the PV electrophysiological characteristics. Materials and methods A whole-cell patch clamp was used to investigate the action potentials and ICl,swell in isolated rabbit single PV and atrial cardiomyocytes during immersion in isotonic (290–300 mosm L−1) and hypotonic (220–230 mosm L−1) solutions. The cell length and cell width were measured using confocal microscopy. Results Hypotonic solution induced larger ICl,swell in the PV cardiomyocytes with pacemaker activity than those in the PV cardiomyocytes without pacemaker activity or atrial cardiomyocytes. Hypotonic solution shortened the action potential duration and increased the cell width to a greater extent in the PV cardiomyocytes than in the atrial cardiomyocytes. Moreover, hypotonic solution decreased the PV firing with a decrease in the transient inward currents and delayed after depolarizations. Conclusions These findings suggest that the ICl,swell plays an important role in the electrical activity of the PV cardiomyocytes.

A total of one hundred and forty four weaned pigs with an average BW of 8.09±0.05 kg were used in a 28 day study to investigate the effects of fermented soy protein on growth performance, blood urea nitrogen and total protein concentrations in serum and nutrient digestibility in weaner pigs. Pigs were blocked by initial body weight and randomly allocated to one of four dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. There were six replications per treatment. Dietary treatments included: SBM (corn- soybean meal basal diet), F 5, 10 and 15 (fermented soy product was used at 5, 10 and 15% to replace soybean meal in basal diet, respectively). ADG (average daily gain) and ADFI (average daily feed intake) were not affected (p>0.05) by dietary treatments during the entire 4-wk study period. There were linear increments in feed efficiency (p 0.05). Digestibilities of histidine, lysine and methionine were increased as the FSP level increased (linear effect, p 0.05). At the end of experiment, BUN (blood urea nitrogen) concentration was increased as the FSP level increased (linear effect, p

For the requirement of higher storage capacity of an optical disk, it is a good choice to shorten pit length and linewidth. However, the conventional laser beam mastering is difficult to fabricate smaller pit length and linewidth because of the optical diffraction limit. In order to solve this problem, optical disk mastering using electron beam lithography is presented. The process parameters of the electron beam mastering such as beam current, constant linear stage velocity, developing time, and focus distance are discussed in this research. In the experiments, it was found that the focus distance is an important parameter to fabricate nano-linewidth. The experimental results reveal that the 10 μm variance in focus distance causes about 12% variation in linewidth. The photoresist with nano-pattern defined by eletron beam was transferred into metal Ni–Co (Nickel–Cobalt) mold by electroplating process. The Ni–Co mold with hardness larger than Vicker Hardness (Hv) 650 was developed. Then, with the Ni–Co mold, LIGA (German: Lithographie GaVanoformung Abformung) process was applied to replicate high-density optical disk. The Ni–Co mold is served as a master for hot embossing process to transfer the nano-pattern onto PMMA sheet. Since the feature size is in nano-meter range, the study presents an innovative demolding mechanism to demold the master from the PMMA sheet without damaging the nano-meter structure. A spiral nano-groove with 112 nm in linewidth and 80 nm in depth has been successfully fabricated about 50 Gbytes storage capacity.

A periodized endurance training is able to adapt physical and psychological needs and increase exercise performance. Dendritic cells (DCs) play a key role in regulation of the immune response. In the present study, we trained Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats for five weeks using a progressive endurance protocol with the aim of measuring the effect on myeloid DC differentiation and maturation. Rats were divided into a non-exercise group (NEG) and an exercise group (EG). Bone marrow cells were isolated from these rats after training and cultured in the presence of granulocyte/monocyte-colony stimulatory factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin (IL)-4, and the resultant immature DCs were triggered with lipopolysaccharide to mature. DCs were collected and the main characteristics of DCs were assessed. The recovery rate and the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules for DC collected from EG was markedly greater than NEG. The function of DCs from EG to trigger a mixed leukocyte reaction and IL-12 production was higher than NEG. There was no liver and renal toxicity observed in all rats. Changes in food/water consumption and body weight increase between the groups were normal for the conditions. This study demonstrated that periodized endurance training is able to modulate DC development and shift them towards a more mature state.

We are fabricating and testing several different types of cathodes for the same vircator driven by a single shot Marx generator and pulse forming line (300 kV, 60 ns, 30 Omega). The cathodes types, each with an emitting area of ~32 cm2, include the original velvet with a new geometry, carbon fiber, pin-array, and an array of all metal cathodes. The metal cathodes are made from aluminum and oxygen free copper fashioned to similar geometries with either a chemical etch or a CNC machining process. The vircator is tested with all of these cathodes using both polarity configurations and evaluated for beam voltage, current density, microwave output, and single shot lifetime. In addition to the cathode testing, several stainless steel and tungsten anode meshes with varying transparencies (50% - 80%) are evaluated. The construction and testing of an anode fashioned from Tantalum (70% transparency) is also discussed. Electron beam uniformity of the metal cathodes is investigated with the emitted electron beam current-density distribution evaluated in both time and space. Optimization of output power using resonant effects is also examined.

A new type of compact induction accelerator is under development at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that promises to increase the average accelerating gradient by at least an order of magnitude over that of existing induction machines. The machine is based on the use of high gradient vacuum insulators, advanced dielectric materials and switches and is being developed as a compact flash X-ray radiography source. Research describing an extreme variant of this technology aimed at proton therapy for cancer will be presented.

We report on a technology development to address explosive detector system throughout with increased detection probability. The system we proposed and are studying consists of a pixelized X-ray based pre-screener and a pulsed neutron source quantitative post verifier. Both technologies are derived from our compact accelerator development program for the Department of Energy Radiography Mission that enables gradients >10 MV/m. For the pixelized X-ray source panel technology, we have performed initial integration and testing. For the accelerator, we are presently integrating and testing cell modules. For the verifier, we performed MCNP calculations that show good detectability of military and multi-part liquid threat systems. We detail the progress of our overall effort, including research and modeling to date, recent high voltage test results and concept integration.

High voltage systems operated in vacuum require insulating materials to maintain spacing between conductors held at different potentials, and may be used to maintain a nonconductive vacuum boundary. Traditional vacuum insulators generally consist of a single material, but insulating structures composed of alternating layers of dielectric and metal can also be built. These "high-gradient insulators" have been experimentally shown to withstand higher voltage gradients than comparable conventional insulators. As a result, they have application to a wide range of high-voltage vacuum systems where compact size is important. This paper describes ongoing research on these structures, as well as the current theoretical understanding driving this work.

To compare the macular retinal thickness and macular volume between subjects with high myopia and non-myopia.This prospective nonrandomized, comparative study recruited healthy subjects with high myopia subjects, defined as a spherical equivalence (SE) over -6 dioptres (D) or AXLor=26.5 mm and the best corrected visual acuity better than 20/25, and subjects with non-myopia, defined as an with SE between 1.5D and -1.5 D and the BCVA better than 20/25. Optical coherence tomography was performed in each eye.Eighty high myopic eyes and 40 non-myopic eyes were included. The mean age of the high myopic group and non-myopia group was 29.6 and 27.5 years old, respectively. The mean refraction was -9.27 D in the high myopia group and -0.22 D in the non-myopia group. The high myopia group had significantly greater mean retinal thickness in the foveola and fovea 1 mm area than the non-myopia group (166 vs149 microm, P0.0001, 199 vs188 microm, P=0.0063, respectively). However, the mean retinal thickness in the inner and outer macular area (superior, nasal, inferior, or temporal) of the high myopia group was significantly less than in the non-myopia group. In addition, the high myopia group had significantly smaller macular volume than the non-myopia group (P0.0001).This study demonstrated that the retinal thickness in individuals with high myopia is thicker in the foveola and fovea, but thinner in the inner and the outer macular region. The retina of individuals with high myopia had smaller macular volume than those with non-myopia.

The initial growth and alloy formation of ultrathin Co films deposited on 1 ML Ni/Pt(1 1 1) were investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). A sequence of samples of dCo Co/1 ML Ni/Pt(1 1 1) (dCo = 1, 2, and 3 ML) were prepared at room temperature, and then heated up to investigate the diffusion process. The Co and Ni atoms intermix at lower annealing temperature, and Co–Ni intermixing layer diffuses into the Pt substrate to form Ni–Co–Pt alloys at higher annealing temperature. The diffusion temperatures are Co coverage dependent. The evolution of UPS with annealing temperatures also shows the formation of surface alloys. Some interesting LEED patterns of 1 ML Co/1 ML Ni/Pt(1 1 1) show the formation of ordered alloys at different annealing temperature ranges. Further studies in the Curie temperature and concentration analysis, show that the ordered alloys corresponding to different LEED patterns are NixCo1−xPt and NixCo1−xPt3. The relationship between the interface structure and magnetic properties was investigated.

An experiment where a H 2 O:CO 2 :NH 3 = 1:1:1 ice mixture was irradiated using the ultraviolet/extreme ultraviolet (UV/EUV) light provided by a synchrotron beam in the broad 4–20 eV (62–310 nm) range at 16 K is presented here. The main originalities of the present work are the composition of the starting ice mixture, since it did not contain any organic compound, in particular no methanol (CH 3 OH) nor methane (CH 4 ) as for previous similar experiments, and the photon energy range. Several amino acids were produced: nine were identified of which seven could be quantified, and some others tentatively identified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This result shows that it is possible to form complex organics such as amino acids from the irradiation of ice mixtures containing C-, H-, O- and N-atom bearing compounds, whatever the organic/inorganic nature of these compounds. Only the distribution of the formed amino acids is different from previous experiments. This discrepancy may be due to the starting mixture composition and/or the different energy range used for the irradiation. These two parameters are discussed in regard of their implications for the formation of amino acids in the laboratory and in astrophysical environments.

The aim of this study is to develop and optimize a simple and reliable high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of rifampicin (RIF), isoniazid (INH), and pyrazinamide (PZA) in a fixed-dose combination. The method is developed and optimized using an artificial neural network (ANN) for data modeling. Retention times under different experimental conditions (solvent, buffer type, and pH) and using four different column types (referred to as the input and testing data) are used to train, validate, and test the ANN model. The developed model is then used to maximize HPLC performance by optimizing separation. The sensitivity of the separation (retention time) to the changes in column type, concentration, and type of solvent and buffer in the mobile phase are investigated. Acetonitrile (ACN) as a solvent and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (tBAH), used to adjust pH, have the greatest influence on the chromatographic separation of PZA and INH and are used for the final optimization. The best separation and reasonably short retention times are produced on the micro-bondapak C18, 4.6 x 250-mm column, 10 microm/125 A using ACN-tBAH (42.5:57.5, v/v) (0.0002M) as the mobile phase, and optimized at a final pH of 3.10.

In the past decades, mesocrystal, a kind of nanocrystals with specific crystallographic orientation, has drawn a lot of attention due to its intriguing functionalities. While the research community keeps searching for new mesocrystal systems, it is equally crucial to develop new approaches to tune the properties of mesocrystals. In this work, a self-organized two-dimensional mesocrystal composed of highly oriented CoFe2O4 (CFO) nano-crystals with assistance of different perovskite matrices is studied as a model system. We have demonstrated that the strain state and corresponding magnetic properties of the CFO mesocrystal can be modulated by changing the surrounding perovskite matrix through their intimate structural coupling. Interestingly, this controllability is more strongly correlated to the competition of bonding strength between the matrices and the CFO mesocrystals rather than the lattice mismatch. When embedded in a matrix with a higher melting point or stiffness, the CFO mesocrystal experiences higher out-of-plane compressive strain and shows a stronger magnetic anisotropy as well as cation site-exchange. Our study suggests a new pathway to tailor the functionalities of mesocrystals.

By using sidewall electrode technology, both record small functional TiO 2 selection device (1 × 5 nm2) and HfO 2 based RRAM device (1 × 3 nm2) were for the first time successfully demonstrated in this work, improving the understanding of the switching mechanism in an ultra-small, functional resistive random access memory (RRAM) device. The tunneling based low temperature back-end selection devices show high driving current density of > 10 MA/cm2 and selectivity of > 103. The pulse driven cycle endurance of sub-5nm selection device and RRAM device reaches 106 and 103, respectively. Well controlled TiO 2 barrier produced with conformal plasma oxidation exhibits tight uniformity. The 1 × 3 nm2 RRAM device exhibited an excellent performance, featuring a large on/off verified window (>100), and reasonable reliability (stress time > 103 s). Furthermore, the 1 × 3 nm2 RRAM device exhibited distinctive unipolar behavior when a high voltage and rapid switching operation (7 V, 50 ns) were applied. We also study on double oxide layer device and propose a physical mechanism picture to compare with previous study. This technology demonstrates the potential of future atomic-scale memories.

This paper reports the floating-body-correlated subthreshold behavior of the SOI NMOS device considering the back-gate-bias effect. As verified by the experimentally measured data, when the channel length shrinks from 1µm to 120nm, the subthreshold slope becomes steeper due to the dominance of the parasitic BJT in the thin film. For the channel length becomes smaller further to 60nm, the subthreshold slope becomes less steep as a result of the dominating DIBL effect in the MOS channel region. As the device is biased at the back gate bias of 10V, for a long channel, the subthreshold slope is improved due to the enhanced function of the parasitic BJT and for a short channel of 60nm, the subthreshold slope is not improved substantially due to the dominance of DIBL.

To investigate the gene polymorphism of metallothionein 2A (MT2A)-838G/C and its correlation to coronary heart disease in the Han population of Jiangsu, China.The MT2A-838G/C was examined in 287 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD group) and 226 healthy controls (control group) by using mono-labeled fluorescent probes. Meanwhile, relevant variables of all subjects were measured, including blood lipid and glucose profiles and body mass index (BMI). The extent of the coronary artery disease was evaluated based on Gensini's coronary artery scoring method.Three distinct genotypes were identified. The highest frequency was observed for genotype GG, followed by genotype GC and CC. There were statistically significant differences in the genotype and allele frequency distribution of the MT2A gene-838G/C polymorphism between the CHD and the control group (p0.05). The allele frequency of MT2A-838C in the CHD patients were higher than that in the healthy controls (31.4% vs 24.6%, p = 0.016). The CHD risk in C allele carriers (including genotype GC+CC) was 1.562 folds as high as in GG allele carriers (OR = 1.562, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.099-2.218, p = 0.013). According to the results of logistic regression analysis, the C allele was an independent risk factor for CHD (p0.05). Gensini's coronary artery disease score were higher in C allele carriers than in non-C allele carriers (p0.05).The gene polymorphism of MT2A-838G/C is correlated to CHD. The C allele might be a CHD-susceptible gene and might also have an effect on the extent of coronary artery disease.

11 págs.; 12 figs.; 6 tabs.; 1 app. Appendix A is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org, Context. Ice mantles that formed on top of dust grains are photoprocessed by the secondary ultraviolet (UV) field in cold and dense molecular clouds. UV photons induce photochemistry and desorption of ice molecules. Experimental simulations dedicated to ice analogs under astrophysically relevant conditions are needed to understand these processes. Aims. We present UV-irradiation experiments of a pure CO2 ice analog. Calibration of the quadrupole mass spectrometer allowed us to quantify the photodesorption of molecules to the gas phase. This information was added to the data provided by the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer on the solid phase to obtain a complete quantitative study of the UV photoprocessing of an ice analog. Methods. Experimental simulations were performed in an ultra-high vacuum chamber. Ice samples were deposited onto an infrared transparent window at 8K and were subsequently irradiated with a microwave-discharged hydrogen flow lamp. After irradiation, ice samples were warmed up until complete sublimation was attained. Results. Photolysis of CO2 molecules initiates a network of photon-induced chemical reactions leading to the formation of CO, CO3, O2, and O3. During irradiation, photon-induced desorption of CO and, to a lesser extent, O2 and CO2 took place through a process called indirect desorption induced by electronic transitions, with maximum photodesorption yields (Ypd) of ∼1.2 × 10−2 molecules incident photon−1, ∼9.3 × 10−4 molecules incident photon−1, and ∼1.1 × 10−4 molecules incident photon−1, respectively. Conclusions. Calibration of mass spectrometers allows a direct quantification of photodesorption yields instead of the indirect values that were obtained from infrared spectra in most previous works. Supplementary information provided by infrared spectroscopy leads to a complete quantification, and therefore a better understanding, of the processes taking place in UV-irradiated ice mantles. © ESO 2015, This research was financed by the Spanish MINECO under project AYA2011-29375. R.M.D. benefited from a FPI grant from Spanish MINECO. V.J.H. and I.T. acknowledge financial support from Spanish MINECO under project FIS2013-48087-C2-1-P.

International audience; We study thin films and magnetic tunnel junction nanopillars based on Ta/Co20Fe60B20/MgO multilayers by electrical transport and magnetometry measurements. These measurements suggest that an ultrathin magnetic oxide layer forms at the Co20Fe60B20/MgO interface. At approximately 160 K, the oxide undergoes a phase transition from an insulating antiferromagnet at low temperatures to a conductive weak ferromagnet at high temperatures. This interfacial magnetic oxide is expected to have significant impact on the magnetic properties of CoFeB-based multilayers used in spin torque memories. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Context. Carbamic acid (NH 2 COOH) is the smallest amino acid, smaller than the smallest proteinaceous amino acid glycine. This compound has never been observed in the interstellar medium (ISM). Previous experiments where ice mixtures containing H 2 O, CO 2 and NH 3 were subjected to 1-MeV proton bombardment showed that carbamic acid is formed in a stable zwitterionic (NH(COO - ) form. Aims. In the present work, we have carried out irradiations of ice mixtures containing H 2 O, 12 CO 2 / 13 CO 2 and NH 3 with ultraviolet (UV)/extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photons provided by a synchrotron source in the 4-20 eV range, and compared the results with those obtained for energetic protons. Methods. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry were used to identify the formed photo-products and monitor their evolution in the ices at 15 K and during the warming up to room temperature in the formed residues. Results. We identified the IR absorption features of HNCO, OCN - , CO, NH+ 4 and NH 2 CHO at low temperature in the ices, and features assigned to carbamic acid in the residues around 250 K. Finally, we conclude that under our experimental conditions, unlike what was obtained after bombardment with energetic protons, carbamic acid may be formed in the neutral form, and propose some photochemical pathways leading to its formation.

Dendritic cells (DC) are specialized antigen-presenting cells. Bone marrow monocytes have been widely used to generate murine myeloid DC. We found that mouse macrophages derived from bone marrow CD11b+ monocytes influenced the differentiation of these precursors into DC. Modulation of differentiation was demonstrated by the down-regulation of CD11c, CD40, and CD86 expression and by IL-12 production. DC differentiated in the presence of conditioned medium from bone marrow-derived macrophage culture (MCM) had impaired ability to stimulate proliferation of, and IFN- gamma production by, allogeneic CD4+ T cells. This inhibition of DC differentiation was mainly mediated by secretory products from macrophages but not by cell-cell contact. MCM contained higher concentrations of macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), IL-10, and TGF- beta1, whereas IL-6 remained unchanged compared with conditioned medium from fresh monocytes. M-CSF may be the major mediator in MCM inhibiting DC differentiation. This study demonstrates an important influence of bone marrow-derived macrophages on DC precursors during DC differentiation.

A discrete multi-layered cylindrical shell (DMC) consists of a thin inner cylindrical shell and helically cross-winding flat steel ribbons. The dynamic elastic response of such cylindrical shell under uniformly distributed pressure pulse is studied in this paper. Under the axisymmetric plane strain assumption, the solution of the problem is divided into two parts: a quasi-static part satisfying inhomogeneous stress boundary conditions and a dynamic part complying with homogeneous stress boundary conditions. The quasi-static part is determined by homogeneous linearity method and boundary conditions, and the dynamic part was worked out by means of finite Hankel transform and Laplace transform. The dynamic response of a DMC is compared with the response of monobloc cylindrical shell. Parametric analyses with the consideration of major influential factors, such as thickness ratio of the inner shell to that of the complete shell, material parameters and winding-angle, are discussed.

24 Mb deletion of 6q22.1--q23.2 in an infant with pulmonary atresia, ventricular septal defect, microcephaly, developmental delay and facial dysmorphism.