High-Flux Neutron Generator Based on Laser-Driven Collisionless Shock Acceleration.

A novel compact high-flux neutron generator with a pitcher-catcher configuration based on laser-driven collisionless shock acceleration (CSA) is proposed and experimentally verified. Different from those that previously relied on target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA), CSA in nature favors not only acceleration of deuterons (instead of hydrogen contaminants) but also increasing of the number of deuterons in the high-energy range, therefore having great advantages for production of high-flux neutron source. The proof-of-principle experiment has observed a typical CSA plateau feature from 2 to 6 MeV in deuteron energy spectrum and measured a forward neutron flux with yield 6.6×10^{7} n/sr from the LiF catcher target, an order of magnitude higher than the compared TNSA case, where the laser intensity is 10^{19} W/cm^{2}. Self-consistent simulations have reproduced the experimental results and predicted that a high-flux forward neutron source with yield up to 5×10^{10} n/sr can be obtained when laser intensity increases to 10^{21} W/cm^{2} under the same laser energy.

[The correlation between blood glucose level and muscle mass, strength and function in an elderly population].

Objective: To explore the correlation between blood glucose levels and the three factors of sarcopenia (muscle mass, strength and function) in older Chinese community dwellers. Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted by collecting the data of patients in Jiangsu Huaqiao Road Community Health Service Center from 2018 to 2019. Two hundred and fifty people aged 60 years or elder were selected. Among them, 101 were men and 149 were women. According to the American Diabetes Association diagnostic criteria for diabetes mellitus in 2018, they were divided into normal glucose tolerance (NGT) group, pre-diabetes group and diabetes group. The patients were assessed for sarcopenia as well. Results: Compared with those in the NGT group, muscle mass and upper limb muscle strength did not change in the diabetic group, but lower limb muscle strength and body function [walking speed, balance, short physical performance battery (SPPB)] decreased significantly in the diabetic group. Pearson correlation analyses showed that fasting plasma glucose(FPG) was negatively correlated with walking speed (r=-0.248, P=0.001), three-pose balance (r=-0.166, P=0.013) and SSPB (r=-0.213, P=0.001). Glycosylated hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c) was positively correlated with sitting and standing time (r=0.205, P=0.002), and negatively correlated with three-pose balance (r=-0.186, P=0.006) and SSPB (r=-0.154, P=0.024). Multiple regression analyses showed that FPG was negatively associated with walking speed (ß=-0.125, P=0.005) and SPPB (ß=-0.034, P=0.012), and that HbA1c was positively associated with sitting and standing time (ß= 0.218, P =0.006) and negatively associated with three-pose balance (ß=-0.143, P=0.012), and SPPB (ß=-0.117, P =0.036). Conclusions: There is no significant correlation between blood glucose levels and muscle mass in the elderly; however, FPG is closely correlated with gait speed, and HbA1c is closely correlated with muscle strength of lower limbs and balance ability in the elderly.

Onset of inverse magnetic energy transfer in collisionless turbulent plasmas.

Inverse magnetic energy transfer from small to large scales is a key physical process for the origin of large-scale strong magnetic fields in the universe. However, so far, from the magnetohydrodynamic perspective, the onset of inverse transfer is still not fully understood, especially the underlying dynamics. Here, we use both two-dimensional and three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to show the self-consistent dynamics of inverse transfer in collisionless decaying turbulent plasmas. Using the space filtering technique in theory and numerical analyses, we identify magnetic reconnection as the onset and fundamental drive for inverse transfer, where, specifically, the subscale electromotive force driven by magnetic reconnection do work on the large-scale magnetic field, resulting in energy transfer from small to large scales. The mechanism is also verified by the strong correlations in locations and characteristic scales between inverse transfer and magnetic reconnection.

Scaling laws for laser-driven ion acceleration from nanometer-scale ultrathin foils.

Laser-driven ion acceleration has attracted global interest for its potential towards the development of a new generation of compact, low-cost accelerators. Remarkable advances have been seen in recent years with a substantial proton energy increase in experiments, when nanometer-scale ultrathin foil targets and high-contrast intense lasers are applied. However, the exact acceleration dynamics and particularly the ion energy scaling laws in this novel regime are complex and still unclear. Here, we derive a scaling law for the attainable maximum ion energy from such laser-irradiated nanometer-scale foils based on analytical theory and multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations, and further show that this scaling law can be used to accurately describe experimental data over a large range of laser and target parameters on different facilities. This provides crucial references for parameter design and experimentation of the future laser devices towards various potential applications.

Use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or receptor blockers is associated with reduced mortality in patients with post-acute kidney injury: meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between the use of ACEis or ARBs and outcomes in patients recovering from AKI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Database, Web of Science and Embase databases from inception to May 2021 and performed a systematic review and meta-analysis using the "meta" package in R 4.0.3. RESULTS: Five cohort studies, published from 2018 to 2021 with 153174 participants and approximately 39081 mortalities, were included in our meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that the use of ACEis/ARBs in patients with post-AKI is associated with a significantly lower risk of death (HR 0.80; 95% CIs, 0.72-0.90) and subgroup analysis showed a significant result in ACEi/ARB users with over 1-year of follow-up (HR 0.86; 95% CIs, 0.77-0.95). CONCLUSIONS: The use of ACEi/ARB in patients with post-AKI is associated with a significantly lower risk of death.

Experimental Evidence of Kinetic Effects in Indirect-Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion Hohlraums.

We present the first experimental evidence supported by simulations of kinetic effects launched in the interpenetration layer between the laser-driven hohlraum plasma bubbles and the corona plasma of the compressed pellet at the Shenguang-III prototype laser facility. Solid plastic capsules were coated with carbon-deuterium layers; as the implosion neutron yield is quenched, DD fusion yield from the corona plasma provides a direct measure of the kinetic effects inside the hohlraum. An anomalous large energy spread of the DD neutron signal (∼282 keV) and anomalous scaling of the neutron yield with the thickness of the carbon-deuterium layers cannot be explained by the hydrodynamic mechanisms. Instead, these results can be attributed to kinetic shocks that arise in the hohlraum-wall-ablator interpenetration region, which result in efficient acceleration of the deuterons (∼28.8 J, 0.45% of the total input laser energy). These studies provide novel insight into the interactions and dynamics of a vacuum hohlraum and near-vacuum hohlraum.

Association between polymorphisms in exons 4 and 10 of the BPI gene and immune indices in Sutai pigs.

The bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI) gene has been identified as a candidate gene for disease-resistance breeding. We evaluated whether polymorphisms in exons 4 and 10 of the BPI gene are associated with immune indices [interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-6, interferon-b (IFN-b), IL-10, and IL-12]. In this study, we identified one mutation (C522T) in the BPI exon 4 site and two mutations (A1060G and T1151G) in the BPI exon 10 site. Correlation analysis revealed that in the Sutai pig population, the effect of genotypes at the BPI exon 4 site on the level of IL-6 was significant (P < 0.05), with an effective genotype of CD; moreover, the effect of genotypes at the BPI exon 10 site on the level of IL-12 was significant (P < 0.05), and the effective genotype was AB. The optimal combined genotype was CD-AB, which was more effective regarding the IL-6 and IL-12 levels compared to the other combined genotypes (P < 0.05). These results indicate that single nucleotide polymorphisms and the combined genotypes of BPI exons 4 and 10 affect immune indices in Sutai pigs. Therefore, these genotypes should be further examined as effective markers for disease-resistant breeding of pigs.

Differential expression of porcine TAP1 gene in the populations of pigs.

Transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) transports peptides from the cytosol into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for subsequent loading onto the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. TAP is consisted of two subunits: TAP and TAP2. Using Real-time PCR technology, this study detected tissue expression profile and analyzed the differential expression of TAP1 gene in Sutai Escherichia coli-resistant group, Yorkshire and Meishan pigs. Tissue expression profile revealed that TAP1 gene expressed in all tissues we detected, and the expression levels were high in lung, immune tissues and intestines. Through the comparation of gene expression differention in different populations, TAP1 expression level of Sutai E. coli-resistant group was significantly higher than that of Yorkshire and Meishan populations in liver, spleen, lung, kidney, thymus, lymph, duodenum and jejunum (P<0.05). Meanwhile TAP1 gene was more highly expressed in Sutai E. coli-resistant group than that of Meishan population in stomach (P<0.05). In conclusion, the upregulation of TAP1 expression level in E. coli-resistant group could be related to E. coli F18 infection. In addition, Chinese local pigs may have special immune response and genetic mechanism in resisting E. coli F18 infection which is differing from MHC I moleculars.

Menopause is associated with lumbar disc degeneration: a review of 4230 intervertebral discs.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to investigate, in a population of normal postmenopausal women, the association between menopause and severity of lumbar disc degeneration from the first lumbar to the first sacral vertebra on magnetic resonance imaging. METHODS: Between January 2010 and May 2013, 846 normal women and 4230 intervertebral discs were retrospectively analyzed. Age, height, weight and years since menopause (YSM) were recorded. Disc degeneration was evaluated using the modified Pfirrmann grading system. RESULTS: Compared to premenopausal and perimenopausal women, postmenopausal women had more severe disc degeneration after removal of age, height and weight effects (p < 0.0001). Postmenopausal women were divided into six subgroups for every 5 YSM. When YSM was below 15 years, there was a significant difference between every two groups, i.e. groups 1-5 YSM, 6-10 YSM and 11-15 YSM (p < 0.01). A positive trend was observed between YSM and severity of disc degeneration, respectively, i.e. L1/L2 (r = 0.235), L2/L3 (r = 0.161), L3/L4 (r = 0.173), L4/L5 (r = 0.146), L5/S1 (r = 0.137) and all lumbar discs (r = 0.259) (p < 0.05 or 0.01). However, when YSM was above 15, there was no difference, i.e. groups 16-20 YSM, 21-25 YSM and 26-30 YSM (p > 0.05), and the significance correlation also disappeared (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Menopause is associated with disc degeneration in the lumbar spine. The association almost entirely occurred in the first 15 years since menopause, suggesting estrogen decrease may be a risk factor for lumbar disc degeneration.

Harmonic modulation instability and spatiotemporal chaos.

It is shown from the conserved Zakharov equations that many solitary patterns are formed from the modulational instability of unstable harmonic modes that are excited by a perturbative wave number. Pattern selection in our case is discussed. It is found that the evolution of solitary patterns may appear in three states: spatiotemporal coherence, chaos in time but the partial coherence in space, and spatiotemporal chaos. The spatially partial coherent state is essentially due to ion-acoustic wave emission, while spatiotemporal chaos characterized by its incoherent patterns in both space and time is caused by collision and fusion among patterns in stochastic motion. So energy carried by patterns in the system is redistributed.

Three-dimensional optical trajectory tracing and energy deposition of a laser beam in a laser-driven fusion.

A convenient method of three-dimensional ray tracing is suggested in the geometrical optical approximation, in which the laser ray propagation is completely based on the concept of optical trajectory tracing rather than depending upon the effective force and propagation time. This tracing has two obvious advantages that the direct application of Snell's law can be avoided when a ray crosses a different density zone and that to any desired accuracy it takes much less computation time than existing tracing. For Gaussian light beam propagation, in a spherically symmetric plasma atmosphere, the results emphasize that the deposition uniformity is strongly dependent not only on the wavelength of the laser but also on the temperature of the plasma.

Quercetin down-regulated bcl-2 gene expression in human leukemia HL-60 cells.

AIM: To study the effect of quercetin (Que) on bcl-2 gene expression in human leukemia HL-60 cells. METHODS: Immunohistochemical analysis and RNA Dot blot hybridization were used to identify the expression of bcl-2 genes. RESULTS: The expression of bcl-2 protein was 94% in control HL-60 cells, which became 45%-84% when they were cultured with Que 15-60 mumol.L-1 for 48 h. The expression of bcl-2 mRNA in HL-60 cells was obviously decreased in treatment with Que 15-60 mumol.L-1. CONCLUSION: The apoptotic action of Que in HL-60 cells was associated with the down-regulation of the apoptosis-suppressing gene bcl-2.

Quercetin induced apoptosis in human leukemia HL-60 cells.

AIM: To examine whether quercetin (Que) might induce apoptosis in human leukemia HL-60 cells. METHODS: DNA fragmentation was visualized by agarose gel electrophoresis. Inhibition of proliferation was measured with a colorimetric MTT-assay. The DNA degradation was determined using flow cytometry, and the microscopic changes were observed by an electron microscope. RESULTS: Que 15-120 mumol.L-1 elicited typical apoptosis morphological changes including condensed chromatin, nuclear fragmentation, and reduction in volume. DNA fragmentation and DNA degradation in a concentration-dependent manner in HL-60 cells. Que inhibited HL-60 cell proliferation. The values of IC50 and 95% confidence limits were 43 (30-61) mumol.L-1 after 48-h treatment with Que. CONCLUSION: Que induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells.

[An epidemiologic survey of blindness and low vision in persons over 45 years old in Doumen County].

An epidemiologic survey of blindness and low vision in persons over 45 years old in Doumen County, Guangdong Province was carried out in 1991. The sample size was 932 subjects. We found that the impairment of vision < 0.3 accounted for 10.94%. The prevalences of bilateral blindness and low vision were 1.61% and 3.22%, respectively. Both the prevalences of blindness and low vision were increased with age. The leading cause of blindness was cataract (45.20%) and the second, corneal opacity (16.70%).

[Studies on reproductive toxicity induced by enriched uranium].

Reproductive toxicity induced by body contamination with enriched uranium (235UO2F2) in different levels was studied. Results showed abnormalities dominated with bicaps and non-hock sperms could be induced by 235UO2F2. Chromosome aberration in spermatogonia induced by 235UO2F2 was dominated with chromosome breakage, and caused chromosome fragment, translocation, polyvalent in primary spermatocyte and DNA strand breakage in sperm. The quantity of sperm DNA strand breakage increased with the raise of intake of 235UO2F2. It was noted that enriched uranium could damage genetic materials in rats and cause dominant lethality and skeletal abnormalities in fetal rats. Incidence (B) of the induced skeletal abnormalities correlated positively to the injected dose (I) of 235UO2F2 into their testes with a regression equation of B = 28.84 + 0.86I.

[An epidemiologic survey on lens opacities in Doumen County].

Age-related lens opacity is the main cause of vision disability in elderly all over the world. A longitudinal study was designed to investigate the prevalence of lens opacity. 1,817 eyes of 932 adults over 45 year-old were sampled randomly. The lens opacities were graded according to a standardized photo of the Lens Opacities Classification System II (LOCS-II). The prevalence of lens opacities in nuclear color, nuclear opacity, cortical opacity and subcapsular opacity was 16.1%, 28.6%, 30.3% and 8.7% respectively. The frequency of all four types of opacities increased with age. The prevalence of lens opacities in four types were higher in female than that in male. The color of nuclear was related to the degree of myopia, the deeper the higher. These results are important information in eye care project.

Induction of chromosomal aberrations in male mouse germ cells by uranyl fluoride containing enriched uranium.

Cytogenetic damage induced by a wide range of concentrations of uranyl fluoride injected into mouse testes was evaluated by determining the frequencies of chromosomal aberrations in spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes. Breaks, gaps and polyploids were observed in spermatogonia. The frequencies of the significant type of aberration, breaks, were induced according to the injected doses of uranyl fluoride. Primary spermatocytes were examined for fragments, univalents and multivalents. The multivalents observed in this study resulted either from chromatid interchanges or from reciprocal translocations. The reciprocal translocations were induced in spermatogonia and recorded in primary spermatocytes. For primary spermatocytes the incidence of aberrant cells largely depended on the administered dose. Sampling time after treatment could affect the frequencies of chromosomal aberrations in male mouse germ cells.

Detection of DNA damage in spermiogenic stages of mice treated with enriched uranyl fluoride by alkaline elution.

DNA breakage in spermiogenic stages of mice treated with enriched uranyl fluoride (UO2F2) was studied using an alkaline elution technique. Mature spermatozoa were sampled from the animal's vas and eluted with a buffer (PH 12.2) at 3-day intervals over a 33-day period after i.p. injection of 2 mg UO2F2/kg and always at 36 days after thymidine labeling in the testes. Elution of sperm DNA from treated animals varied with spermiogenic stages. At 12 days after exposure the amount of the elution of sperm DNA was found highest and increased with the increasing UO2F2 dose up to 6 mg/kg.

[Selective accumulation of 147Pm in organism on induction of micronucleus and SCE of bone marrow cells as well as the mutagenic effect on fetal liver and spleen].

Study of accumulation peculiarity of 147Pm showed that iv. different doses of 147Pm were the same selectively localized in skeleton. Retention of 147Pm in skeleton was elevated when the radioactive doses of 147Pm were increased. At the same time absorption dose of 147Pm radiation was also raised. The ability of 147Pm to induce sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) has been investigated by IdU labelling methods. A statistically significant elevation of SCEs was observed after 147Pm intake. The number of SCEs per cell in bone marrow cells was always higher in mice when the animals were maintained on the doses of 37 Bq/g. We observed the injurious effects of 147Pm, using micronucleus rates in bone marrow cells as indicator. The results showed that the lower limit of injected activity effecting marked rise of rates was 185 Bq/g A peak rate of 1.34% was reached at 24 here after intake of 147Pm 1.85 x 10(5) Bq/g. Our study is also to ascertain the correlation between maternal deposition, perinatal uptake of 147Pm and their chromosome aberrations of maternal and fetal liver cells. Results indicated that 147Pm was predominantly deposited in maternal liver. Deposition of 147Pm in maternal spleen was about one quarter of that in the maternal liver. In view of the placental barrier uptake of 147Pm by fetal liver or spleen was definitely depressed. Studies indicated that maternal contamination of 147Pm could induce chromosome aberrations in fetal liver and spleen cells. Among the type of aberrations induced by 147Pm, chromatid breakage were predominant.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)