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Propagation of high-current relativistic electron beam (REB) in plasma is relevant to many high-energy astrophysical phenomena as well as applications based on high-intensity lasers and charged-particle beams. Here we report a new regime of beam-plasma interaction arising from REB propagation in medium with fine structures. In this regime, the REB cascades into thin branches with local density hundred times the initial value and deposits its energy two orders of magnitude more efficiently than that in homogeneous plasma, where REB branching does not occur, of similar average density. Such beam branching can be attributed to successive weak scatterings of the beam electrons by the unevenly distributed magnetic fields induced by the local return currents in the skeletons of the porous medium. Results from a model for the excitation conditions and location of the first branching point with respect to the medium and beam parameters agree well with that from pore-resolved particle-in-cell simulations., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures

Background Breast cancer is rare in men and managed by extrapolating from breast cancer in women. The clinicopathological features of male breast cancer, however, differ from those of female breast cancer. Because clinical trials are rare, the synthesis of real-world data is one method of integrating sufficient evidence on the optimal treatment for this patient population. Methods PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched. Clinical studies were included if they evaluated the treatments of interest in male breast cancer; these evaluations included breast-conserving surgery (BCS) versus mastectomy, postmastectomy radiation therapy versus no radiation, the accuracy of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), and a comparison of various endocrine therapies. Results Forty studies were retrieved. The pooled estimate of overall survival (OS) revealed no difference between BCS and mastectomy groups. Postmastectomy radiation to the chest wall significantly increased OS relative to no postmastectomy radiation (hazard ratio (HR) 0.67, 95 per cent confidence interval 0.54 to 0.84). The pooled estimates of identification and false-negative rates of SLNB were 97.4 and 7.4 per cent respectively. Tamoxifen treatment was associated with significantly increased OS compared with no tamoxifen intake (HR 0.62, 0.41 to 0.95). Conclusion Identification and false-negative rates for SLNB were comparable to those in female breast cancer. Breast-conserving surgery can be effective and safe; postmastectomy radiation to the chest wall and 5-year tamoxifen treatment improves survival.

Branched flow is an interesting phenomenon that can occur in diverse systems. It is usually linear in the sense that the flow does not alter the properties of the medium. Branched flow of light on thin films has recently been discovered. It is therefore of interest to know whether nonlinear light branching can also occur. Here, using particle-in-cell simulations, we find that in the case of an intense laser propagating through a randomly uneven medium, cascading local photoionization by the incident laser, together with the response of freed electrons in the strong laser fields, triggers space–time-dependent optical unevenness. The resulting branching pattern depends dramatically on the laser intensity. That is, the branching here is distinct from the existing linear ones. The observed branching properties agree well with theoretical analyses based on the Helmholtz equation. Nonlinear branched propagation of intense lasers potentially opens up a new area for laser–matter interaction and may be relevant to other branching phenomena of a nonlinear nature.

Transport of high-current relativistic electron beams in dense plasmas is of interest in many areas of research. However, so far the mechanism of such beam-plasma interaction is still not well understood due to the appearance of small time- and space-scale effects. Here we identify a new regime of electron beam transport in solid-density plasma, where kinetic effects that develop on small time and space scales play a dominant role. Our three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that in this regime the electron beam can evolve into layered short microelectron bunches when collisions are relatively weak. The phenomenon is attributed to a secondary instability, on the space- and timescales of the electron skin depth (tens of nanometers) and few femtoseconds of strong electrostatic modulation of the microelectron current filaments formed by Weibel-like instability of the original electron beam. Analytical analysis on the amplitude, scale length, and excitation condition of the self-generated electrostatic fields is clearly validated by the simulations.

Background Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have elevated nasopharyngeal resistances due to increased turbulent airflow. The study aims to investigate the effect of oropharyngeal surgery on nasal resistance in patients with various severity levels of OSA. Methodology Patients with greater or equal to 5 events hourly on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) were enrolled. Patients with retropalatal obstruction underwent uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, while patients with concurrent retrolingual obstruction under- went uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) plus tongue base suspension. Before surgery and after surgery, subjective outcomes were assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS), and objective outcomes were assessed using overnight polysomnography and rhinomanometry. The limitation of the study was that UPPP instead of expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty was performed in this study. Results Sixty-two patients were enrolled, while 30 patients were diagnosed as mild OSA (group Mild) and 32 patients were mo- derate-severe OSA (group MS). The preoperative VAS of nasal obstruction in recumbency during sleep was significantly reduced after surgery in group MS. However, no significant differences between preoperative and postoperative VAS were found in group Mild. The postoperative anterior and posterior total nasal resistances (TNR) in sitting and supine positions were not significantly different from those before surgery in group. In contrast, the postoperative posterior TNR in supine position was 0.292±0.301(Pa/ cm3/s), compared with 0.425±0.343(Pa/cm3/s) preoperatively. Conclusions Oropharyngeal surgery improves nasal obstruction during sleep and lowers the supine TNR measured in poste- rior rhinomanometry in patients with moderate-severe OSA. Oropharyngeal surgery is a possible treatment for postural nasal obstruction in patients with moderate-severe OSA.

The synthesis and thermotropic liquid crystal (LC) properties of gemini imidazolium salts comprising Cl − , BF 4 − , PF 6 − , AuCl 4 − counteranions, varied alkenyl spacer lengths and terminal alkyl chains are described. LC properties are investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing optical microscopy, and powder X-ray diffraction studies. It should be noted that, salts of short spacers favor the formation of mesophase. A SmA with wide mesophase range and high thermal stability are identified. The Cl − salts have shown an odd-even effect on phase transition temperatures as the length and parity of the spacer is varied. The use of [(CH 2 ) 4 (C 18 -Im) 2 ][AuCl 4 ] 2 salt as precursor for the fabrication of Au nano/micro particles via chemical reduction, photo irradiation, and thermolysis methods is presented. A clear vision of morphology change is observed in Au structures by varying the reduction method, however the mesophase does not control over the size and morphology of Au particles in the thermolysis method. The colloidal AuNPs prepared in this study showed remarkable stability for over six months. These results offer great insight into the counter anion and spacer effects on LC nature of gemini Im salts, which broadens the scientific understanding to develop advanced soft materials.

In the archetypal lithium-rich cathode compound Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2, a major part of the capacity is contributed from the anionic (O2−/−) reversible redox couple and is accompanied by the transition metal ions migration with a detrimental voltage fade. A better understanding of these mutual interactions demands for a new model that helps to unfold the occurrences of voltage fade in lithium-rich system. Here we present an alternative approach, a cationic reaction dominated lithium-rich material Li1.083Ni0.333Co0.083Mn0.5O2, with reduced lithium content to modify the initial band structure, hence ~80% and ~20% of capacity are contributed by cationic and anionic redox couples, individually. A 400 cycle test with 85% capacity retention depicts the capacity loss mainly arises from the metal ions dissolution. The voltage fade usually from Mn4+/Mn3+ and/or On−/O2− reduction at around 2.5/3.0 V seen in the typical lithium-rich materials is completely eliminated in the cationic dominated cathode material.

Biodegradable sheath-core structured nanofibers, with chitosan as the sheath material and polylactide (PLA) at the core, were developed for the removal of metal ions. For the electrospinning of sheath-core nanofibers, predetermined weight percentages of chitosan were first dissolved in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) with sonication for 30 min, and then mixed by a magnetic stirrer for 12 h. The same procedure was conducted with polylactide (PLA). The chitosan and polylactide solutions were then fed into two different capillary tubes with needles of small diameter, respectively, for co-axial electrospinning. The delivery rates of the solutions were controlled by two independent pumps for the sheath chitosan solutions and the core PLA solution. The morphology of the electrospun nanofibers was examined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The average diameter of the electrospun nanofibers was found to range from 234 nm to 562 nm. The influence of various process conditions on the metal removal was also investigated. The removal efficiency of the sheath-core chitosan/PLA nanofibers was measured and compared with the efficiency of blended chitosan/PLA nanofibers. The experimental results suggested that the electrospun sheath-core nanofibers exhibited superior metal ion removal efficiency compared to the blended nanofibers. The removal efficiency of the nanofibrous membranes increased with the initial metal ion concentrations and the pH value and decreased with the temperature of the solutions.

The La1−xKxCo1−xNbxO3 oxides were prepared by conventional solid state reaction technique. By using the GSAS programme a successful fit (Rp = 3.45%, Rwp = 2.77%, X2 = 1.28) was obtained, for x = 0.1. Refinements confirmed that K occupying the La sites and Nb for Co sites gave an acceptable occupancy factor for K and Nb. The valence state of all the ions in the system was determined by XPS analysis, and the lattice parameters were calculated according to the results of selected-area-diffraction (SAD) patterns and X-ray diffraction (XRD) identifications. The direction of the superlattice structure along [001] was found for x = 0.1 as identified from the SAD patterns.

By using multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we demonstrate that the coherent interaction of two relativistic laser pulses in plasmas offers a degree of freedom for manipulating the electron acceleration process. It is shown that by adjusting the relative phase between two intense laser pulses, their interaction features in plasmas are well controlled, which subsequently induce different electron acceleration processes. In this case, the properties of the accelerated electron beam, including the directionality, the maximum energy, and the conversion efficiency, can be controlled though the manipulation of the energy redistribution of these intense laser pulses. In particular, compared to the cases with a single laser pulse or two out-of-phase laser pulses, two in-phase laser pulses fuse into a much stronger laser pulse, which significantly prolongs the electron acceleration length in plasmas and leads to the generation of energetic electron beam with much higher conversion efficiency.

The dynamics of electron injection in the direct laser acceleration (DLA) regime is investigated using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations and theoretical analyses. It is shown that, as an ultraintense laser pulse propagates into a near-critical density or relativistically transparent plasma, the longitudinal charge-separation electric field excites ion density spikes, which modulate the local electric field. The corresponding electric field acts as a series of potential wells to guide the electrons on the edge of the plasma channel into its center where the DLA can take place. On the other hand, an azimuthal magnetic field is self-generated, and it can deflect the injected electrons from the intense laser-field region. Understanding these physical processes paves the way for further optimizing the properties of direct-laser accelerated electron beams and the associated x- and $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray sources.

Background Olfactory dysfunction significantly impairs the life quality of patients. Therefore, a model needs to be developed for anosmia. Chitosan is a biodegradable natural polysaccharide that has been widely studied for regenerative purposes in the nervous system. However, whether chitosan promotes differentiation of olfactory receptor neurons or regulates formation of neurospheres in the olfactory system remains unexplored. Methodology Olfactory neuroepithelial cells were isolated from embryonic wistar rats on day 17, and cultured on controls and chitosan films for 12 days. The effects of treatment were assessed using immunocytochemistry, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blots following culturing. The substrate of poly-L-lysine-co-laminin was adopted as a control. Results In contrast to the flat layer on controls, olfactory neuroepithelial cells form olfactory neurospheres on chitosan films with steadily increasing diameter. The olfactory neurospheres contain basal cells, as well as immature and mature olfactory receptor neurons. The expression level of olfactory marker protein is higher on chitosan films than those on controls in gene and protein levels, and the olfactory transduction elements also express a similar trend. Mature olfactory receptor neurons are found predominantly at the periphery of the olfactory neurospheres. Conclusions Chitosan films not only facilitate formation of olfactory neurospheres, but also promote differentiation of olfactory receptor neurons. Chitosan is a potential biomaterial to establish an in vitro culture model to treat olfactory dysfunction in future.

Self-shaping and propagation of intense laser beams of different radial profiles in plasmas is investigated. It is shown that when a relativistic elliptically Gaussian beam propagates through an underdense plasma, its radial profile will self-organize into a circularly symmetric self-similar smooth configuration. Such self-similar propagation can be attributed to a soliton-like structure of the laser pulse. The anisotropic electron distribution results in a circular electric field that redistributes the electrons and modulates the laser pulse to a circular radial shape.

A 5.3 GHz high-efficiency and low-cost class-E power amplifier (PA) implemented in a 180 nm CMOS process is presented. Cascode configuration is utilised in the class-E PA to achieve high efficiency due to its high gain property and low drain-to-source parasitic capacitor. Through the trade-off between inductance and inductor loss, an optimised RF choke inductor for fully integrated class-E PA design can be selected to achieve high efficiency while maintaining compact circuit size. The class-E CMOS PA demonstrates the highest Power Added Efficiency (PAE) of 42% and greatest power area density of 532 mW/mm2 in 0.263 mm2 chip area to date.

The interactive dynamics of two relativistic laser beams copropagating in underdense plasmas is studied using a coupled model equation for the relativistic laser propagation. It is shown that the relative phase difference between the two laser pulses plays a significant role in their interaction processes. When the relative phase varies, the two laser beams display different features, such as attraction, repulsion, and energy shift. In particular, energy flow from the phase-advanced beam to the spot domain of the phase-delayed beam is observed when the relative phase difference is between zero and $\ensuremath{\pi}$. When the relative phase is larger than $\ensuremath{\pi}/2$, repulsion is dominant and the interaction gradually becomes weak. When the relative phase difference is smaller than $\ensuremath{\pi}/2$, attraction becomes dominant and, as the phase difference decreases, the phase-advanced beam shifts most of its energy into the spot domain of the phase-delayed beam. These conclusions are verified by our three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. This provides an efficient way to manipulate the energy distribution of relativistically intense laser pulses in plasmas by adjusting their relative phase.

This report studied, both experimentally and numerically, the factors affecting the warpage in in-mold decoration (IMD) injection molded parts. All experiments were conducted on an 80-ton injection-molding machine. The materials used in the experiments included poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films and 30 % glass fiber-filled PET resins. U-shaped plate parts with three different angles (90°, 135°, and 150°) at the corners were molded. The influence of various processing parameters on part warpage was investigated using an experimental matrix, with its design based on the experimental-parameter-design method developed by Taguchi. The experimental results suggested that all molded parts warped toward the side of the decoration film. For the parameters selected in the experiments, the corner angle and the melt injection pressure were found to be the principal factors affecting the warpage of IMD injection molded parts. The 90° angled parts exhibited the greatest amount of warpage, while the 150° angled parts showed the least amount of warpage. Additionally, a commercially available code (Moldex® 3-D) was used to simulate the temperature distribution during the filling process and the molded part warpage. Calculated warpage satisfactorily matched with the experimental data. It has been shown that the warpage of IMD injection molded parts is mainly caused by the imbalanced temperature distribution during cooling, due to the part geometry and the decoration films.

In this study, a ray-mimic underwater robot was designed and implemented. The robot is propelled by its pectoral fins. The robot is equipped with IR sensors and an image sensor for obstacle avoidance and object racking, respectively. Its specific gravity is adjusted by two water storage tanks and its center of gravity is controlled by two screw-rods. The image data is processed on board using a DSP chip installed in the robot and motion control is achieved by PIC16F877 micro-controllers. Obtained data are also sent to its user via wireless communications so that real time performance can be accomplished. Experimental results show that the robot achieves its designed functions successfully.

The hosing processes of a relativistic laser pulse, electron acceleration, and betatron radiation in a parabolic plasma channel are investigated in the direct laser acceleration regime. It is shown that the laser hosing instability would result in the generation of a randomly directed off-axis electron beam and radiation source with a large divergence angle. While employing a preformed parabolic plasma channel, the restoring force provided by the plasma channel would correct the perturbed laser wave front and thus suppress the hosing instability. As a result, the accelerated electron beam and the emitted photons are well guided and concentrated along the channel axis. The employment of a proper plasma density channel can stably guide the relativistically intense laser pulse and greatly improve the properties of the electron beam and radiation source. This scheme is of great interest for the generation of high quality electron beams and radiation sources.

It was shown that in the interactions of ultra-intense circularly polarized laser pulse with the near-critical plasmas, the angular momentum can be transferred efficiently from the laser beam to electrons through the resonance acceleration process. The transferred angular momentum increases almost linearly with the acceleration time t_{a} when the electrons are resonantly accelerated by the laser field. In addition, it is shown analytically that the averaged angular momentum of electrons is proportional to the laser amplitude a_{L}, and the total angular momentum of the accelerated electron beam is proportional to the square of the laser amplitude a_{L}^{2} for a fixed parameter of n_{e}/n_{c}a_{L}. These results are verified by three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. This regime provides an efficient and compact alternative for the production of high angular momentum electron beams, which may have many potential applications in condensed-matter spectroscopy, new electron microscopes, and bright x-ray vortex generation.

Filamentation dynamics of relativistic optical vortex beams (OVBs) propagating in underdense plasma is investigated. It is shown that OVBs with finite orbital angular momentum (OAM) exhibit much more robust propagation behavior than the standard Gaussian beam. In fact, the growth rate of the azimuthal modulational instability decreases rapidly with increase of the OVB topological charge. Thus, relativistic OVBs can maintain their profiles for significantly longer distances in an underdense plasma before filamentation occurs. It is also found that an OVB would then break up into regular filament patterns due to conservation of the OAM, in contrast to a Gaussian laser beam, which in general experiences random filamentation.

Betatron radiation from direct-laser-accelerated electrons is characterized analytically and numerically. It is shown here that the electron dynamics is strongly dependent on a self-similar parameter S(≡n_{e}/n_{c}a_{0}). Both the electron transverse momentum and energy are proportional to the normalized amplitude of laser field (a_{0}) for a fixed value of S. As a result, the total number of radiated photons scales as a_{0}^{2}/sqrt[S] and the energy conversion efficiency of photons from the accelerated electrons scales as a_{0}^{3}/S. The particle-in-cell simulations agree well with the analytical scalings. It is suggested that a tunable high-energy and high-flux radiation source can be achieved by exploiting this regime.

Energetic electron acceleration processes in a plasma hollow tube irradiated by an ultraintense laser pulse are investigated. It is found that the longitudinal component of the laser field is much enhanced when a linear polarized Gaussian laser pulse propagates through the plasma tube. This longitudinal field is of $\ensuremath{\pi}/2$ phase shift relative to the transverse electric field and has a $\ensuremath{\pi}$ phase interval between its upper and lower parts. The electrons in the plasma tube are first pulled out by the transverse electric field and then trapped by the longitudinal electric field. The trapped electrons can further be accelerated to higher energy in the presence of the longitudinal electric field. This acceleration mechanism is clearly illustrated by both particle-in-cell simulations and single particle modelings.

The effect of perpendicular (to the direction of shock propagation) magnetic fields on electron shock-surfing acceleration (ESSA) is investigated. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that the strength of background magnetic fields can significantly affect the shock formation process and the electrostatic field structure near the leading edge of the shock. It is found that ESSA is most efficient when the ratio of electron cyclotron frequency to plasma frequency is about 0.1. In this case, there are two types of electrostatic field structures near the shock edge, namely, small-scale filamentary and large-scale dipole electric fields, induced by the Buneman instability and fluid compression, respectively. In such a mixed field structure, the affected electrons can undergo multiple accelerations and gain much higher energies than that under weaker or stronger background magnetic fields.

Dimensional effects in particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation of target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) of protons are considered. As the spatial divergence of the laser-accelerated hot sheath electrons and the resulting space-charge electric field on the target backside depend on the spatial dimension, the maximum energy of the accelerated protons obtained from three-dimensional (3D) simulations is usually much less that from two-dimensional (2D) simulations. By closely examining the TNSA of protons in 2D and 3D PIC simulations, we deduce an empirical ratio between the maximum proton energies obtained from the 2D and 3D simulations. This ratio may be useful for estimating the maximum proton energy in realistic (3D) TNSA from the results of the corresponding 2D simulation. It is also shown that the scaling law also applies to TNSA from structured targets., Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, 45 references

An overview of the recent development of the superconducting FeSe 1-x and related compounds is presented. Methods to synthesize high purity poly-crystalline samples, single crystals, and thin films with preferred orientation are described. It was found that the effects of chemical doping to the Se-site or Fe-site are rather different. Ionic size of the doping is found to play critical role on the occurrence of superconductivity. We also review the physical properties, including transport, magnetic, and thermal properties. There exist interesting transport anomalies in the resistivity and Hall coefficient at low temperature; and it was found that a structural distortion at low temperature is critical to the occurrence of superconductivity in these materials. However, the exact origin of these observed anomalies are not clear, and the exact pairing symmetry in FeSe-based superconductors is also still in question.

Particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSOA), which maintains a population of particles, where each particle represents a potential solution to an optimization problem, is a population-based stochastic search process. This study intends to integrate PSOA with K-means to cluster data. It is shown that PSOA can be employed to find the centroids of a user-specified number of clusters. The proposed PSOA is evaluated using four data sets, and compared to the performance of some other PSOA-based methods and K-means method. Computational results show that the proposed method has much potential. A real-world problem for order clustering also illustrates that the proposed method is quite promising.

A new approach to grow FeSe1−xTex single crystals with an optical zone-melting technique was successfully employed. Crystals with actual composition 0.4 ≤ x ≤ 1.0 all show high crystallinity with no phase separation. The ability to visually observe the locally heated melt, and ease of use and control of the image furnace make this method a promising and time-efficient way for obtaining high-quality FeSe1−xTex crystals. Our results indicate that with adequate heat treatment, the nonuniform distribution of Se and Te atoms in crystal lattice can be effectively eliminated, while the transition width of superconductivity can be reduced to about 2 K, which suggest the crystals are homogeneous in nature.

Crystals of FeSe0.88 and FeSeMn0.1 have been grown from KCl solutions. Crystals measuring 2−3 mm across and 0.1−0.3 mm thick grow with a hexagonal plate like habit. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements show strong peaks corresponding to the tetragonal α-FeSe phase and weak hexagonal β-FeSe peaks in both cases. The plate side of the crystal is identified to be the (101) face of the tetragonal α-FeSe. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic (EDS) measurements show that Mn substitutes for Fe. Both types of crystals show a superconducting transition at 8 K in the DC magnetization measurements and a broad resistive transition with zero resistance at 7.5 K with an onset at 11 K. Specific heat measurements also confirm bulk superconductivity in the crystals. Crystals could also be grown using KBr as a solvent.

An overview of the recent development of the superconducting FeSe1x and related compounds is presented. Methods to synthesize high purity polycrystalline samples, single crystals and thin films with preferred orientation are described. In addition to the synthesis of FeSe and FeSeTe, the effects of various partial chemical substitutions on Fe and Se/Te site are described. It was found that the effects of chemical doping to the Se-site or Fe-site are rather different. Ionic size of the dopant is found to play a critical role on the occurrence of superconductivity. We also review the physical properties, including transport, magnetic, and thermal properties. There exist interesting transport anomalies in the resistivity at low temperature, and it was found that a structural distortion at low temperature is critical to the occurrence of superconductivity in these materials. However, the exact origin of these observed anomalies is not clear, and the exact pairing symmetry in FeSe-based superconductors is also still in question. 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

In this paper, we demonstrate the use of photonic crystal (PC) directional couplers to separate light of wavelengths at 1.31 and 1.55 m. The PC structure consists of InAlGaAs nanorods arranged in hexagonal lattice. The simulation of our device is implemented by the finite-difference time-domain method. The devices are fabricated by e-beam lithography and conventional photolithography. We use the strong inverse method (SIM) of e-beam lithography to make the pattern smoother. The measurement results confirm that 1.31/1.55-m wavelength splitter can be realized in PC structures formed by nanorods.

Here we present a systematic study of correlation between superconductivity with Se-content and Te-doping to the �. -FeSe system. Detailed structural and specific heat measurements at low temperature suggest that the occurrence of superconductivity is closely related to the presence of P-1 (triclinic) symmetry at low temperature. Magnetic field dependence of the resistive transition in polycrystalline �. -FeSe1-x and FeSe1-xTex suggest that Te-doping tends to induce the system to become more 2D-like and enhances substantially the upper critical field value, whereas the FeSe system behaves more like 3D superconductor.

It is shown that the filamentation instability of relativistically intense laser pulses in plasmas can be mitigated in the case where the laser beam has an elliptically distributed beam profile. A high-power elliptical Gaussian laser beam would break up into a regular filamentation pattern-in contrast to the randomly distributed filaments of a circularly distributed laser beam-and much more laser power would be concentrated in the central region. A highly elliptically distributed laser beam experiences anisotropic self-focusing and diffraction processes in the plasma channel ensuring that the unstable diffractive rings of the circular case cannot be produced. The azimuthal modulational instability is thereby suppressed. These findings are verified by three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations.

Silver(I) N-heterocyclic carbene complexes (Ag(I)−NHCs) with long N-alkyl side chains formulated as (a) ion pairs, (b) halide-bridged neutral complexes, and (c) disilver tetrahalide anion bridged tetranuclear complexes were obtained by the reaction of benzimidazolium and imidazolium halide salts with Ag2O. Interestingly, when excess Ag2O was used, Ag nanoparticles were formed along with Ag(I)−NHCs. Crystal structures of Ag(I)−NHC complexes including both long and short N-alkyl chains were determined. The diversity of the solid-state structures depended on the halide ions, chain length, carbene cores, and crystallization conditions. The Ag(I)−NHCs of long alkyl chains did not show liquid crystal properties but did so when mixed with their corresponding imidazolium salts. These organic−inorganic hybrids were good single-source precursors for silver nanomaterials.

Chromosomal aberration analysis in peripheral blood lymphocytes was performed to evaluate late cytogenetic effects of long-term low dose-rate gamma-irradiation exposure among students and residents exposed in radiocontaminated buildings.Blood samples were taken from 1913 subjects (age 17.8+/-13.6, mean+/-SD) 5-8 years after their relocation from radioactive environments as well as from 176 non-exposed subjects (age 29.6+/-11.9) from the local community. Their lymphocytes were cultured for 48 h and metaphase spreads were prepared. A total of 208 900 metaphases were analysed for different types of chromosomal aberrations.Relatively higher frequencies of translocations (2.1 x 10(-3)), rings (0.6 x 10(-3)) and dicentrics (0.6 x 10(-3)) were noted in the exposed population as compared with the nonexposed reference populations. Moreover, 356 (78.6%) of the 453 inversions were found on 14q11.2q32 in the exposed population. Among 392 well-demonstrated translocations, 167 (42.6%) and 175 (44.6%) occurred in chromosomes 7 and 14, respectively, while 139 (35.5%) occurred as t(7;14). In particular, the aberrations t(7;14)(p13;q11.2), t(7;14)(p15;q11.2) and t(7;14)(q36;q11.2) were the most prevalent, occurring with frequencies of 19 (13.7%), 20 (14.4%) and 27 (19.4%), respectively. In these, 3205 breakpoints were documented, with chromosomes 7, 9 and 14 shown to carry significantly higher frequencies of breakpoints than expected (chi(2)-test, p0.0001). A further six hotspots were identified on 7p15 (57, 1.8%), 7q36 (42, 1.3%), 9q12 (244, 7.6%), 9q13 (86, 2.7%), 14q11.2 (509, 15.9%) and 14q32 (387, 12.1%) in the exposed population.In comparison with the unexposed population, we observed increased frequencies of various chromosomal aberrations in this human population with previous exposure to prolonged low dose-rate gamma-radiation. Moreover, several hotspot breakpoints and inversions and translocations were observed on chromosomes 7 and 14.