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High-energy electron radiography (HEER) has been proposed for time-resolved imaging of materials, high-energy density matter, and for inertial confinement fusion. The areal-density resolution, determined by the image intensity information is critical for these types of diagnostics. Preliminary experimental studies for different materials with the same thickness and the same areal-density target have been imaged and analyzed. Although there are some discrepancies between experimental and theory analysis, the results show that the density distribution can indeed be attained from HEER. The reason for the discrepancies has been investigated and indicates the importance of the uniformity in the transverse distribution beam illuminating the target. Furthermore, the method for generating a uniform transverse distribution beam using octupole magnets was studied and verified by simulations. The simulations also confirm that the octupole field does not affect the angle-position correlation in the center part beam, a critical requirement for the imaging lens. A more practical method for HEER using collimators and octupoles for generating more uniform beams is also described. Detailed experimental results and simulation studies are presented in this paper.

Several mm-wave diagnostics on the DIII-D tokamak provide multi-scale and multi-dimensional measurements of plasma profile evolution and turbulence fluctuations. Mm-wave fusion plasma diagnostics that adopt system-on-chip integrated circuit technology can provide better space utilization, flexible installation, and improved sensitivity. In order to further extend this technology for additional fusion facilities with a higher toroidal magnetic field, V-band (55–75 GHz) and F-band (90–140 GHz) chips for Microwave Imaging Reflectometer (MIR) and Electron Cyclotron Emission Imaging (ECEI) instruments are developed and tested in the Davis Millimeter Wave Research Center (DMRC). Current measurement data show that correlation between these SoC-based diagnostic instruments with other state-of-the-art diagnostics enables co-located multi-field turbulence fluctuation measurement.

Here a compact three orthogonal planes high-energy electron radiography system was proposed. One of the critical technologies, the ultra-fast beam bunches split from the bunch train are studied. The separated bunches could be transported to the three orthogonal planes of the target for dynamic radiography diagnostics. The key elements of the ultra-fast bunches split system are transverse deflecting cavity (TDC) and the twin septum magnet (TSM). The principle of TDC and TSM are briefly introduced. An example of the beam bunches split system for test experiment (40 MeV electron beam) with TDC and TSM is designed and studied by particle-tracking simulation and it confirms this method is valid and feasible. Especially with TSM, a compact three orthogonal planes radiography system can be realized. The evolution of the beam parameters along the beam line from simulation are investigated. The detailed design of the beam split system and beam dynamics simulation study are presented in this paper.

Purpose: We used a superficial parotid lobe–sparing delineation approach for dose optimization with better protection for the parotid glands in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. Methods: Compared with traditional contouring of the entire parotid glands as organs at risk (OARS) in IMRT for NPC, we used a superficial parotid lobe–sparing delineation approach of contouring the superficial parotid lobes as OARS. Changes in dose to the parotid glands, the targets, and other OARS were evaluated. Results: The mean dose to the parotid glands overall decreased by more than 4 Gy in the test plans. Impressively, the mean dose to the superficial parotid lobes in the test plans was not more than 30 Gy, regardless of clinical stage. In T1–3 NPC patients, the dose distributions for targets were not significantly different in the control plans and the test plans. However, for some T4 patients, the dose distributions for targets and brainstem in the test plans could not meet clinical requirements. Conclusions: The superficial parotid lobe–sparing delineation approach can significantly lower the mean dose to the entire parotid and to the superficial parotid lobe in T1–3 NPC patients, which would be expected to result in less xerostomia and better quality of life for those patients.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate whether clinical, lesion-related and procedural factors may predict in-stent restenosis (ISR) after intracranial stenting. Methods: Sixty-one Chinese patients with 65 lesions treated with single bare metal balloon- mounted stent for symptomatic intracranial arterial stenosis underwent conventional angio- graphic follow-up after procedures between March 2004 and July 2009. Clinical, lesion-related and procedural factors were analysed for any predictive power for the ISR using univariate and multivariate analysis. ISR was defined as >50% stenosis within or at the edge of the stent or absolute luminal loss >20%. Results: ISR was found in 18 patients (18/61, 29.5%) with 20 lesions (20/65, 30.8%) at a median follow-up of 7 months (range, 5e30 months). Univariate analysis revealed that diabetes, Mori classification, lesion length and stent diameter were associated with ISR. In addition, diabetes (hazard ratio (HR), 2.661; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.044e6.787; P Z0.040) and lesion length (HR, 1.206; 95% CI, 1.023e1.421; PZ 0.026) were detected as two independent predic- tors for ISR by stepwise multivariate Cox regression analysis. Conclusions: ISR after intracranial stenting with bare metal balloon-mounted stents in our series seems to be more frequent than those reported by the majority of the published case series. Diabetes and lesion length are associated with increased risk of ISR.

The objective was to investigate the feasibility of improving embryo yield in superovulated cows following insemination with sex-sorted semen by prior immunization against inhibin. Twenty-eight heifers were allocated into three groups: High (n=10), Low (n=10), and Control (n=8). The High group received one primary (1mg) and two booster (0.5mg) vaccinations (28-d intervals) with a recombinant inhibin alpha-subunit in 1 mL of white oil adjuvant, whereas the Low group received half that dose, and the Control group received only adjuvant. After the last immunization, all heifers underwent a standard superovulation treatment (decreasing doses of pFSH for 4d), followed by two AI with 2 x 10(6) sex-sorted semen after the onset of estrus. Inhibin-immunized heifers had higher (P0.01) plasma antibody titres, and an earlier onset of estrus (P0.05) than Control heifers. The total number of embryo/ova, transferable, and grade 1 embryos in the High group (15.4+/-1.9, 5.7+/-0.7, and 3.8+/-1.0, respectively) was significantly greater than that of the Control group (9.1+/-1.2, 3.1+/-0.5, and 0.6+/-0.2), but was intermediate (P0.05) in the Low group (13.0+/-2.3, 4.4+/-0.7, and 1.2+/-0.3). There were no significant differences among groups in number of unfertilized ova and degenerated embryos. The High group also had higher (P0.05) plasma progesterone concentrations on the day of embryo collection. In conclusion, immunization against inhibin improved both embryo quantity and quality following superovulation and insemination with sex-sorted semen.

[EN] This study investigated the mechanisms controlling hair follicle development in the Rex rabbit. The Agilent rabbit gene expression microarray was used to determine differentially expressed genes in Rex rabbit foetuses with different wool densities. The expression patterns of selected differentially-expressed genes were further investigated by quantitative real-time PCR. Compared to low wool density rabbits, 1342 differentially expressed probes were identified in high wool density rabbits, including 950 upregulated probes and 392 downregulated probes. Gene ontology analysis revealed that the most upregulated differentially expressed probes belonged to receptors and the most downregulated differentially expressed probes belonged to DNA binding molecules. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis revealed that the differentially expressed probes were mainly involved in the sonic hedgehog (Shh) and Eph signalling pathways. The results also suggest that transforming growth factor-beta 1, growth hormone receptor, and the keratin-associated protein 6.1 genes, as well as the Shh and Eph signalling pathways, may be involved in the regulation of hair follicle developmental in Rex rabbits., The authors thank Ms. Libo Huang for her technical assistance. This study was supported by grants from the Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (CARS-44-B-1), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2015M580601) and Agricultural Major Application Technology Innovation Project of Shandong Province (2015-2016)

Highly luminescent lipophilic CdSe/ZnS core-shell QDs with an emission maximum at 556 nm were synthesized. These QDs were successfully encapsulated into solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) using the thin-layer ultrasonication technique. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS), and zeta potential measurement were employed to characterize the QDs-loaded SLNs for morphology, particle size with polydispersity index (PI), and zeta potential. The nanocomposite particles obtained appeared in a shape of spherical or near spherical with the average size of 92.3 nm, PI of 0.235 and zeta potential of -28.74 mV. Each nanocomposite particle contains tens of QDs observed by TEM. Fluorescence measurements show that the encapsulated QDs maintain their high luminescence and narrow/symmetric emission spectra. The experiment result indicates that the nanocomposite particles are stable and slow to photobleach. These luminescent nanocomposite particles have good potentials in biological imaging applications.

By separating particles from the anode and the cathode wires, particle properties of individual electrodes of the arc spray process were investigated. Bimodal size distribution was observed for particles from each single wire. In addition, after atomisation and acceleration, average diameter difference between particles from the anode and cathode becomes quite small and the difference can be reduced by increasing atomising gas pressure and/or by using a closed nozzle system with a converging–diverging orifice (CD/CL). Microstructure analysis indicates that the CD/CL nozzle tends to produce coatings with finer microstructure, lower porosity and higher oxide content, while the open nozzle system leads to very coarse coating microstructure with higher porosity but less oxide content. CFD analysis of the gas dynamics was performed for different nozzles and led to numerical prediction of splat diameter distribution. Results show a smaller average splat diameter and a narrower splat diameter distribution for the CD/CL nozzle that is in close agreements with the microstructure analysis. It was found that a major disadvantage of the open nozzle system is its relatively longer distance between the wires interception point and the nozzle exit where the gas velocity attains its maximum value.

By using a computer image analysis method, the microstructure of deposits arc sprayed with steel and copper wires as anode and cathode, respectively, were investigated and it was demonstrated that there exists a cross-over of the particle trajectories in the plume. Along the cross-section of the deposit, flattened particles from the anode and cathode wires were distributed in an asymmetric way about the centreline of the plume and varied gradually. For the deposits sprayed by an open nozzle system and a closed nozzle system with converging orifice, the locations of the maximum particle density of the anode and cathode materials did not coincide with each other and were not located at the centreline of the plume. However, for the deposit sprayed with a closed nozzle system and a converging–diverging orifice, such phenomenon was not obvious. By quantitative evaluation of the lamella structure of the deposits, it was found that the lamella thickness distribution followed a similar rule with that of the material content distribution. The above results indicate that in the twin wire arc spray process asymmetry in droplet formation and atomization results in remarkable inhomogeneity in coating microstructure.

In this paper, a mathmatical mechanical model and the governing differential equations of the coupled problem of temperature, seepage and stress fields with phase change are first derived from the theory of heat transfer, the theory of seepage and frozen soil mechanics. Then the finite element formulae of this problem are obtained from Galerkin's method. Finally, an illustrative example of the temperature field and stress field in a cold regions tunnel, considering the seepage and frost-heaving force influence, is provided. The example shows that the influence of frost-heaving force on the stresses of the tunnel lining is very large and, thus, the effect of this factor on the tunnel lining should be taken into account in the cold regions engineering design.

NiTi alloys have excellent properties such as superelasticity, shape memory effect, high damping (HD) etc. they are one of the most attractive functional materials, therefore, much attention has been paid to NiTi alloys for years. Using the explosive consolidation technique to produce NiTi alloys not only reduces the cost due to multiple melting and complicated machining processes, but also makes the products have net shapes. In the previous paper, the authors reported that in some NiTi compounds, B2 phase, Ti[sub 2]Ni, R-phase and martensite, were directly formed by shock synthesis. In this paper, they report two new structures of FCC Ti[sub 2]Ni variants, which were also formed directly by explosion.

Recently, explosive consolidation of metal powders has had a renewed interest because of its short processing time, and the high pressures that are obtained easily etc. Although there are some new techniques such as combustion synthesis or self-propagating high temperature synthesis which have been developed. In previous papers, NiTi alloy with a good SME was obtained by explosive consolidation and a subsequent heat treatment with pure nickel and titanium powders. Metallic powders have also been successfully made by this method. Thus NiTi alloys made by explosive consolidation are feasible. But it seems impossible that NiTi intermetallic compounds are directly shock synthesized from pure Ti and Ni elemental powders. By comparison with the processing and properties, few papers were published about microstructures of explosively consolidated NiTi alloys which greatly influence the phase transformation behavior and properties. In this paper, the authors report detailed results of microfeatures for the specimen without any future heat treatments by the transmission electron microscope.

The aim of the present work was to assess the merits of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) as vehicles for transdermal iontophoretic drug delivery. For the measurements, either a model drug (triamcinolone acetonide acetate, TAA) or a lipophilic fluorescent probe (nile red, NR) was encapsulated into NLCs. The NLCs with sizes of 100 nm and 350 nm diameter were prepared by high-pressure homogenization technique. The particle size with polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential and morphology were examined by photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). In vitro penetration studies involved passive penetration and iontophoresis for control (TAA ethanol solution) and TAA-NLCs formulations. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was employed to visualize the distribution of NR-NLCs after skin permeation. The overall results reveal the benefits of the combined use of iontophoresis and NLCs in improving skin penetration parameters. The NLCs with a size of 100 nm seem to be promising for iontophoretic delivery as they have shown maximum enhancement ratio and skin deposition. This is the first report of the use of NLCs as vehicles for transdermal iontophoretic drug delivery.

A method to compensate for the inference of the load shift due to network structure changes to the distribution load forecasting is presented in this paper. The techniques of the grey model and the extension of tendency are combined to enhance the veracity of the load forecasting. A load forecasting program has been developed and embedded in a distribution management information system.

The specimens of aluminum alloy welded joint were prepared by gas tungsten arc welding using 2A12 sheets and ER5356 welding wires. Some specimens were full coverage strengthened by ultrasonic impact treatment and the others were not strengthened. The surface layer microstructures of the ultrasonic impact treated and untreated specimens were investigated by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The surface layer hardness and residual stress distributions along the thickness direction were measured by micro-hardness tester and X-ray diffraction method. The results showed that a grain refinement layer which depth extended up to about 150∼200 μm was produced by ultrasonic impact treatment. The average hardness value of the treated specimens was up to 110 HV, increasing by 45% compared with 76 HV of the untreated specimen. A residual compressive stress layer was also produced by ultrasonic impact treatment, and the depth was close to 900 μm. The maximum residual compressive stress was -285 MPa. At the same time, the anti-fatigue mechanisms on grain refinement, work hardening and residual compressive stress of aluminum alloy welded joint with ultrasonic impact treatment were also discussed.