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1. Due to seasonal breeding, geese breeds from Southern China have low egg yield. The genetic makeup underlying performance of local breeds is largely unknown, and few studies have investigated this problem. This study integrated 21 newly generated and 50 publicly existing RNA-seq libraries, representing the hypothalamus, pituitary and testis, to identify candidate genes and importantly related pathways associated with seasonal breeding in male Lion-Head geese.2. In total, 19, 119 and 302 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in the hypothalamus, pituitary and testis, respectively, of male Lion-Head geese between non-breeding and breeding periods. These genes were significantly involved in the neuropeptide signalling pathway, gland development, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, JAK-STAT signalling pathway, cAMP signalling pathway, PI3K-Akt signalling pathway and Foxo signalling pathway.3. By integrating another 50 RNA-seq samples 4, 18 and 40 promising DEGs were confirmed in hypothalamus, pituitary and testis, respectively.4.

Based on source-specific saccharide tracers, the characteristics of biomass burning (BB) and biogenic emissions of saccharides were investigated in three rural sites at Lincang, which is 65 % covered with forest in the southwest border of China. The total saccharides accounted for 8.4 ± 2.7 % of organic carbon (OC) and 1.6 ± 0.6 % of PM2.5. The measured anhydrosugars accounted for 48.5 % of total saccharides, among which levoglucosan was the most dominant species. The high level of levoglucosan was both attributed to the local BB activities and biomass combustion smoke transported from the neighboring regions of Southeast Asia (Myanmar) and the northern Indian subcontinent. The measured mono- or disaccharides and sugar alcohols accounted for 24.9 ± 8.3 % and 26.6 ± 9.9 % of the total saccharides, respectively, and both proved to be mostly emitted by direct biogenic volatilization from plant material or surface soils rather than byproducts of polysaccharide breakdown during BB processes. Five sources of saccharides were resolved by non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) analysis, including BB, soil microbiota, plant senescence, airborne pollen, and plant detritus with contributions of 34.0 %, 16.0 %, 21.0 %, 23.7 %, and 5.3 %, respectively. The results provide information on the magnitude of levoglucosan and contributions of BB, as well as the characteristic of biogenic saccharides, at the remote sites of southwest China, which can be further applied to regional source apportionment models and global climate models.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) is one of the endocrine hormones that plays an important role in regulating growth and development of animals. In this study, polymorphism in the 5′UTR and 3′UTR coding region and of the IGF1 gene was detected by DNA sequencing technology, and the abundance of IGF1 mRNA in various tissues at three growth stages of the Shitou goose was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Moreover, the differential expression of IGF1 in various tissues between the Shitou goose and Wuzong goose was revealed. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were found in the exon3 region of IGF1 in the Shitou goose. IGF1 mRNA was extensively expressed in various tissues of Shitou geese with high abundant expression in the liver, breast muscle and leg muscle at three growth stages. IGF1 mRNA expression showed a trend of first increase and then decrease in the pituitary, liver, subcutaneous fat and abdominal fat tissues, but it decreased in the breast muscle and leg muscle of a Shitou goose with growing age. Expression of IGF1 in the liver, leg muscle and pituitary tissues of the Shitou goose was significantly higher than that of the Wuzong goose. This provides a foundation for further study of regulatory mechanisms of IGF1 in the growth and development of geese.

Children are susceptible to allergic rhinitis (caused by external allergens) accompanied by functional gastrointestinal disease, which seriously affects physical and mental health. Antihistamines and nasal spray hormones are commonly used in clinical treatment, but these drugs often have unsatisfactory efficacy and result in high recurrence rates. Therefore, understanding the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis with functional gastrointestinal disease and seeking safer treatment and prevention methods is essential. Herein, molecular ecology and immunoassays were used to analyze correlations between pediatric allergic rhinitis with functional gastrointestinal disease and both the intestinal microbiota and gastrointestinal peptide levels. Fifty healthy children (healthy group) and 80 children with allergic rhinitis with functional gastrointestinal disease (case group: evenly divided into a control group (conventional drug therapy) and an intervention group (conventional drug therapy + glutamine+probiotics)), were enrolled. Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus counts and the gastrin and motilin levels were lower in the case group than in the healthy group, whereas Enterobacter, yeast, and Enterococcus counts and the somatostatin, serotonin, and vasoactive intestinal peptide levels were higher. Post treatment, intestinal microbiota indices, gastrointestinal peptide levels, and intestinal barrier function were better in the intervention group than in the control group ( p < 0.05). The intervention group had a significantly higher total therapeutic response rate (95.00%) than the control group (77.50%). The intestinal microbiota was closely associated with gastrointestinal peptide levels. Treatment with glutamine and probiotics regulated these levels, re-established balance in the intestinal microbiota, and restored intestinal barrier function.

This paper proposes an indoor visible light location method based on embedded platform and optical frequency image recognition technology with artificial intelligence, which can effectively improve the location effect in complex indoor environment. By transplanting the artificial intelligence (AI) based image classification algorithm into the embedded platform, this method uses a forward neural network to analyse the position information coming from the coded optical frequency image received by a camera, and then the positioning results can be obtained. In view of the "motion state" and "occlusion state" that are most likely to fail in traditional visible image localization, we specially supplement the training set of relevant characteristic optical frequency images to enhance the robustness of the method. According to the track and positioning results of the moving platform receiver, the proposed method can provide accurate and reliable navigation and positioning and has stronger anti-interference ability compared with the traditional light intensity or light image positioning methods.

Operation target beam power of China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), as the China’s first 100 kW beam power pulsed neutron source, is now larger than 80 kW. During the beam power upgrading process of CSNS to 50 kW from 2018 to 2019, many improvements have been made for the front end of CSNS. The improvements mainly focus on solving the problems of ion source instability and the radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) sparking caused by the pre-chopped beam into RFQ.

Patent blue v, one of synthetic colours, is commonly used to improve the appearance of foods in Europe, but the health concerns associated with synthetic colours has been sometimes reported. In pre...

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made more awful effect on wellbeing and economy worldwide on an extraordinary scale. Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2), the principal receptor of SARS-CoV2, has been found to be communicated with Dopa decarboxylase in unwinding the connection of catecholamines with COVID-19 infection. Cardiovascular (CV) sickness, diabetes, hypertension, and related conditions cause significant risks during the current situation and the affected people are under basic observation around the world. The hypertension and diabetes are related with alterations in the degrees of catecholamines associated with renal gland. The naive form of renal dopaminergic framework is related with the expanded reabsorption of sodium resulting in downregulation of the ACE2 expression. Catecholamine biosynthesis is managed by counter-controlling angiotensin type 1R (AT1R) and angiotensin type 2R (AT2R), incitement of AT2 lessens catecholamine biosynthesis by means of a diminishing in cGMP levels likewise incitement of AT1 initiate catecholamine biosynthesis. This audit sums up the conceivable contribution of catecholamines in intense COVID-19 contamination and furthermore featured possible restorative adequacy of catecholamine flagging pathways against the incessant SARS-CoV-2.

Introduction and Objective Onasemnogene abeparvovec (formerly AVXS-101), is designed to address the genetic root cause of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), survival motor neuron 1 gene (SMN1) deletion/mutation. Here, we evaluate final data from STR1VE-US (NCT03306277), a multicenter, open-label, single-arm, single-dose, Phase 3 study conducted in the United States, investigating efficacy and safety of one-time intravenous infusion of onasemnogene abeparvovec in patients with SMA1 (aged, Methods Co-primary endpoints: independent sitting for ≥30 seconds at the 18 months visit, survival (no death/permanent ventilation) at 14 months of age. Co-secondary endpoints: ability to thrive at 18 months (composite of: tolerates thin liquids, no mechanical nutrition support, maintains weight consistent with age), independence from ventilatory support at 18 months (based on Trilogy BiPAP usage). Safety endpoints: unanticipated treatment-related toxicity of Grade ≥3 based on CTCAE. Results All co-primary and co-secondary endpoints demonstrated statistically significant benefits of onasemnogene abeparvovec compared with untreated controls in the Pediatric Neuromuscular Clinical Research (PNCR) study. Thirteen of 22 (59.1%) patients treated with onasemnogene abeparvovec achieved the milestone of functional independent sitting for ≥30 seconds at the 18-month visit (P Conclusions In the STR1VE-US study, patients with SMA1 treated with onasemnogene abeparvovec demonstrated a significant therapeutic benefit and a favourable the benefit-risk profile.

The failures of polypropylene laminated paper (PPLP), the major insulation of high temperature superconducting (HTS) cables, are mainly rooted in the electrical ageing. In this paper, effects of electrical ageing on AC breakdown and trap distribution characteristics of PPLP are investigated. Electrical ageing under AC voltage of PPLP in liquid nitrogen is carried out. The breakdown performance and trap distribution of PPLP are characterized by AC breakdown and isothermal surface potential decay (ISPD) measurements. In addition, the aged samples are further analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results demonstrate that the breakdown strength of PPLP decreases from 113.32 kV/mm to 92.36 kV/mm after ageing for 60 min under 30 kV. The energy level and trap density of deep trap calculated by ISPD results both decrease with ageing. FTIR and SEM indicate that the partial cellulose of insulating paper on the out-layer of PPLP is broken under the impact of high-energy electrons. As a result, the free volume of insulating paper is expanded, and the binding ability of cellulose molecular chains to charge carriers is weakened, which leads to the decrease of energy level and trap density of deep trap and further promotes the charge transportation. Therefore, a decreased breakdown strength of PPLP can be observed after electrical ageing. In conclusion, it is proposed that the destruction of molecular chain structure in the aged PPLP can lead the change of trap distribution, further resulting in the decline of breakdown strength.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of soy isoflavone daidzein on ruminal fermentation, microbial protein synthesis and rumen bacterial community in beef cattle. Six rumen-cannulated adult beef cattle were assigned to three blocks according to similar body weight in a randomised block design, with two cattle each block. Each block randomly received one of the two dietary treatments: control (basal concentrate) and daidzein (supplementation with 500 mg daidzein/kg basal concentrate). High-throughput sequencing data showed that supplemental daidzein increased the relative abundance of bacteria belonging to phylum Bacteroidetes (p = .050), but reduced and tended to reduce the relative abundance of phylum Spirochaetae (p = .030) and Firmicutes (p = .080). At the genus level, the relative abundance of Prevotella (p = .036), RC9_gut_group (p = .019), Succinivibrio (p = .093) and Ruminobacter (p = .085) were increased or tended to be increased by daidzein supplementation. However, supplemental daidzein reduced or tended to reduce some uncultured and unclassified bacteria genus belonging to Ruminococcaceae (p = .028), Prevotellaceae (p = .088) and Lachnospiraceae (p = .068). The ruminal pH (p = .023) and ammonia-N (p = .031) concentration were lower in the daidzein group than in the control group, but the daidzein group tended to have greater ruminal total VFA (p = .063) concentration. Supplemental daidzein increased urinary excretion of allantoin (p = .005) and total purine derivatives (p = .007). Current results suggest that supplemental daidzein can affect ruminal fermentation by changing ruminal microbial community, increase the production of VFA and enhance microbial protein synthesis in the rumen, showing the potential of daidzein for improving ruminal fermentation in beef cattle.

Background and aim Balance deficits are common after total knee arthroplasty (TKA); however the responsiveness of commonly used balance measurement tools has not been well defined. The objective of this prospective study was to compare the internal and external responsiveness of four measurement tools in assessing recovery of balance function following TKA. Methods A total of 134 individuals with TKA (95 women; age: 66.3 ± 6.6 years) completed the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest), Mini-BESTest, Brief-BESTest, and Berg Balance Scale (BBS) at 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeks post-TKA. The Functional Gait Assessment (FGA) served as the anchor measure, and was also measured across these time points. Internal responsiveness was indicated by the standardized response mean (SRM), while external responsiveness was reflected by the degree of association of the changes of balance scores with those of FGA. Results The SRM ranged from 0.60–1.14 for the BESTest, 0.40–0.94 for the Mini-BESTest, 0.27–0.91 for the Brief-BESTest, and 0.19–0.70 for the BBS, over time. The change in BESTest and Mini-BESTest scores predicted the change in the FGA scores across all time periods, except for the Mini-BESTest between weeks 12–24, accounting for 13–27%, and 12–24% of the variance, respectively. The Brief-BESTest scores only predicted FGA scores between the weeks 2–4 ( R 2 = 20%). The changes in BBS scores were not associated with the FGA. Conclusion The BESTest is the most responsive in measuring recovery of balance among individuals with TKA. The Mini-BESTest is a reasonable option during time constraints.

Summary There is substantial inter-individual variability in serum testosterone levels in hypogonadal men treated with testosterone gels. We aimed to elucidate participant-level factors that contribute to inter-individual variability in testosterone levels during testosterone therapy. An exploratory aim was to determine whether polymorphisms in genes encoding testosterone-metabolizing enzymes could explain the variation in on-treatment testosterone concentrations in men who were randomized to testosterone arm in TOM Trial. We used data from three randomized trials that used 1% transdermal testosterone gels and had testosterone levels measured 2–4 weeks after randomization for dose adjustment: Testosterone in Older Men with Mobility Limitation (TOM), Effects of Testosterone on Pain Perception (TAP), and Effects of Testosterone on Atherosclerosis Progression (TEAAM). Forty-seven percent, 38%, and 9% of participants in TAP, TEAAM, and TOM trials, respectively, failed to raise testosterone levels >400 ng/dL; 6, 8, and 30% of participants had on-treatment testosterone levels >1000 ng/dL. Even after dose adjustment, there was substantial variation in on-treatment levels at subsequent study visits. Baseline characteristics (age, height, weight, baseline testosterone, SHBG, hematocrit, and creatinine) accounted for only a small fraction of the variance (

In this review, we introduce various magnetic biosensors that have been developed. We first explain the advantages of magnetic biosensing and their general operating principles as well as the biolabeling technique for magnetic nanoparticles. Next, we focus on magnetoresistive biosensing technologies because magnetoresistive biosensors will be an essential development direction due to the demand for miniaturization and portable lab-on-a-chip devices. The magnetoresistive effects employed in biosensing include anisotropic magnetoresistance, giant magnetoresistance and tunneling magnetoresistance. In addition to magnetoresistive sensors, the advantages and disadvantages of some nonmagnetoresistive magnetic biosensors are discussed and compared. Finally, we introduce research on integrating magnetic biosensors into the microfluidic laboratory-on-a-chip systems and comment on future development trends.

An accelerator-based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) facility has been built at the campus of China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS). To upgrade it, a Drift Tube Linac (DTL) is designed to provide a 40 mA, 25% duty factor, 10.1 MeV beam for the target. Two opposing power couplers are employed to deliver forward peak power up to 640 kW for the beam and DTL cavity. A new coaxial power coupler with a single Tristan type window is designed to meet the power and coupling coefficient requirements. In this paper, the detailed RF optimization process of the coupler is described. According to the RF simulation results, the multipacting (MP) phenomenon at critical locations is simulated by the CST PS (Particle Studio). Simulations of thermal and mechanical are also carried out, the cooling design to provide a large margin for RF heating is performed based on the simulation results.

Vision loss can result from common eye diseases and continue to be a major disability due to its dramatic effect on the quality of life of patients. Injuries to the retina lead to visual impairment in age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, while injuries to the optic nerve cause loss of vision in glaucoma. Other injuries to the cornea can also cause scarring and subsequent blindness. Current therapies are limited at halting or minimizing disease progression while cure and restoration of vision remain a challenge for many common eye diseases. Stem cell-based therapy is a promising treatment to restore vision in patients with retinal diseases or ocular surface injury. Transplantation of stem cells from various sources including embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, retinal progenitor cells, and limbal stem cells has been used in repairing and replacing nonfunctioning cells. Stem cell-based therapy will continue to be an exciting field of research, and its potential for clinical therapy has just begun to unravel.

To establish normal values for detection indexes of peripheral skeletal muscle dysfunction (quadriceps femoris) of healthy older subjects, and investigate the functional status of the peripheral skeletal muscle of patients with stable phase COPD.Patients with stable phase COPD and healthy subjects of similar age were included. The assessments of strength and myoelectricity of the quadriceps femoris were recorded. The twitch tension of the quadriceps femoris (TwQ), quadriceps maximum voluntary contraction (QMVC), and endurance time (Tf) were measured. The multiple-parameter malnutrition index (MNI) was used for overall evaluation of the nutritional status of patients. The femoral muscle volume was estimated. All subjects were subjected to a routine pulmonary function test including indexes such as FEV1, FVC, FEV1/FVC (%), and PEF. Enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) was used to measure the levels of myostatin, tumor necrosis factor-α, TNF-like apoptosis-inducing factor (TWEAK), surface active protein D (SPD), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6. The cell immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of nuclear factor Kappa B (NF-κB).There were significant differences in body weight, BMI, femoral muscle volume, and physical activity scores between the two groups (p0.01). The MNI of patients in the COPD group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p0.01). The QMVC of 51 male and 16 female patients decreased. All eight tested cytokines increased in the COPD group but there were only significant differences in four cytokines (p0.05).Chronic systemic inflammation is a major risk factor of skeletal muscle dysfunction (SMD) in COPD patients. The levels of SPD, myostatin, TWEAK, and TNF-α decreased significantly in COPD patients.

This paper discusses the performance and reliability of the third generation split-gate flash memory cell (ESF3) successfully embedded in a high performance and low power 28 nm logic process technology. The scaling of the 1.05V select transistor is demonstrated with the excellent program and erase efficiency and the 1M program/erase (P/E) cycle endurance capability. The silicon result of a 4Mb test chip and a 32Mb design will be also be shown.

We propose a new and highly effective tool to add to the ever shrinking toolbox for combating infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria; N-chloramine and quaternized N-chloramine were coated onto iron-oxide magnetic nanoparticles to generate antibacterial MNPs. Two differently-sized primary iron-oxide nanoparticles (3 nm and 10 nm) were synthesized and coated with silica and (3-chloropropyl)triethoxysilane, allowing subsequent introduction of N-chloramine precursors – dimethyl hydantoin (DMH) and quaternized dimethyl hydantoin (QDMH). The functionalized MNPs (MNP@DMH and MNP@QDMH) have a clear core–shell structure as evidenced by TEM images. Fe3O4 was identified (by combining X-ray diffraction with Mossbauer spectroscopy) to be the iron oxide in the 10 nm MNPs, while γ-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 were the 3 nm MNP's oxide phases. Both MNPs (3 nm and 10 nm) have good magnetic responses, with saturation magnetizations of 40 ± 4 emu g−1 and 65 ± 2 emu g−1, respectively. Chlorination activated the antibacterial function and yielded two antibacterial MNPs: MNP@DMCl and MNP@QASCl. At the equivalent [Cl+] of 50 ppm, both coatings demonstrated fast inactivation of the model bacteria methicilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and multi-drug resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa. For either size of primary MNPs, MNP@QDMCl is more effective than MNP@DMCl. A hand-held magnet could quickly remove >99% of the functionalized MNPs from a wound simulant within 2 minutes.

Effect of Ca substitution on the multiferroic properties of non-epitaxially grown polycrystalline Bi1−xCaxFeO3 (BCFO) films on refined Pt(1 1 1) electrode buffered glass substrates is studied. The structural analysis shows that a pure perovskite phase with isotropic orientation is present for BCFO films (x = 0.05–0.15). The grain size and surface roughness are reduced with increasing x. Different from the BCFO ceramics, good ferroelectric properties with the remanent polarization (2Pr) of 91–124 μC/cm2 and electrical coercive field (Ec) of 294–394 kV/cm are obtained in BCFO polycrystalline thin films. Furthermore, the substitution of Ca2+ for Bi3+ effectively enhance the ferromagnetic properties with magnetization (Ms) of 5.9–8.2 emu/cm3 and coercivity (Hc) of 1224–1258 Oe. The ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties and leakage behavior as functions of Ca content x are discussed.

Non-epitaxially induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of Co 50 Pt 50 thin films at room temperature (RT) is reported. The CoPt film having a disordered hcp structure shows a magnetocrystalline anisotropy ( K u RT ) of 1–2 × 10 6 erg/cm 3 in a wide range of layer thickness from 2 to 20 nm. K u RT of about 1 × 10 6 erg/cm 3 can be preserved after a 400 °C-thermal cycle in the 5-nm-thick sample. Moderate PMA, large thickness range, simple preparation process, low formation temperature but good thermal stability make presented hcp CoPt become a remarkable option for advanced spintronic devices.

The commissioning of CSNS front end has been finished. The 15 mA beam intensity is obtained at the end of RFQ. For CSNS ion source, it is a type of penning surface plasma ion source, similar to ISIS ion source. To improve the operation stability and reduce spark, sonic improvements have been made, including Penning field and extraction optics. The codes PBGUNS and CST are applied to simulate the beam extraction. With these simulation results, various extracted structures are modified, including the jaw gap of extractor and the gap of between plasma slit and extractor. The running results show the stability of ion source is improved further.

A Radio Frequency (RF) H-minus source with external antenna is under construction to improve the performance of China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), which requires a H-minus beam of 40 mA peak current, 25 Hz repetition rate, and 1 ms pulse length. The plasma chamber is made of Si3N4 ceramic to endure high thermal shock. The water-cooled antenna is brazed on the outer wall of the plasma chamber to enhance heat dissipation of the chamber. The antenna is powered with a solid-state amplifier of maximum 80 kW via an isolation transformer and an impedance transformer. To produce a flat-top H-minus current, we aim to program the amplitude of RF input signal,so that the fluctuation of the beam current is compensated with the change of the RF power within a pulse. Up to now the mechanical construction of the source is finished, and the RF match network is ready for test. The source is scheduled to produce plasma in the end of 2017.

We propose a multiple estimation adjustment (MEA) method to correct effect overestimation due to selection bias from a hypothesis-generating study (HGS) in pharmacogenetics. MEA uses a hierarchical Bayesian approach to model individual effect estimates from maximal likelihood estimation (MLE) in a region jointly and shrinks them toward the regional effect. Unlike many methods that model a fixed selection scheme, MEA capitalizes on local multiplicity independent of selection. We compared mean square errors (MSEs) in simulated HGSs from naive MLE, MEA and a conditional likelihood adjustment (CLA) method that model threshold selection bias. We observed that MEA effectively reduced MSE from MLE on null effects with or without selection, and had a clear advantage over CLA on extreme MLE estimates from null effects under lenient threshold selection in small samples, which are common among 'top' associations from a pharmacogenetics HGS.

SmCo7-based compounds are prototypical rare-earth based hard magnetic materials that are the backbone of numerous devices and applications. We have found that by doping the SmCo7 phase with Niobium (e.g. SmCo6.7Nb0.3), the enhanced coercivity being measured. Using a combination of microstructural and compositional characterization techniques with ab initio calculations, we find that the Nb-doping stabilizes the nanocrystalline nature of the material by residing at the 2e site of the SmCo7 structure, decreases the average grain size, and substantially increases the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant (K) (e.g. from 1.25 × 107 erg/cm3 for SmCo7 to 1.40 × 107 erg/cm3 for SmCo6.7Nb0.3). A significant enhancement in coercivity with Nb doping is attributed to the increased K and the reduced grain size.

This paper describes a novel method to non-destructively determine the thickness of thin layer in a non-contact way. A model of wave interference was established based on the multireflection of shear wave in layered system. Furthermore, its expression of reflection coefficient phase was deduced to provide the principle of thickness measurement. A formed laser source by focusing a line on the layer surface was used to generate shear wave, while an electromagnetic acoustic testing (EMAT) sensor was proposed to receive the wave. An example of the method and experimental measurement for comparison is given for a thin steel sheet with the thickness of approximate 0·4 mm. The relative error between the present method and metallography method is less than 4%, which shows laser-EMAT technique is very suitable to non-destructive assess the thickness of the layer.

Traditional airplane magnetic field models simplify geomagnetic field values as constants, overlooking changes to the model coefficient brought by gradually variational magnetic field which reduces the model accuracy. This paper puts forward an aircraft magnetic field model under geomagnetic gradient change. The geomagnetic gradient change is adopted the truncated singular value decomposition (TSVD) to solve multicollinearity in the model solving. It is proposed to use the coefficient obtained from the truncated singular value as initial conditions and utilize recursive damped least square (RDLS) to conduct adaptive adjustment to model coefficients aiming at the coefficient variation of induction field and Eddy Current Field caused by the geomagnetic field. The simulation outcome indicates that the method boasts a high magnetic compensation effect.

The purpose of the paper is aiming to improve the medical supply distribution routing. From the empirical data, we examine four major issues which are multiple replenishments, unidentifiable distribution spot, implementation of wrong information in the system, and matching issues. Repetition, delay, and cross-district sequence of delivery cause extra transportation cost. We proposed a clustering approach to improve the efficiency. We group all the points into several clusters, then routing the path. A distribution centre inside the hive-shaped formation can significantly shorten the distance and reduce the time by allocating to the surrounding individual point separately. Lastly, the objective of logistics is to satisfy the requirements of the end consumers with high quality service, as a special and integrated activity, logistics plays a focal position in modern society, routing optimization is the main focus of VRP. The most significant improvement is the distribution distance reduced from 52 km to 29.4 km, 43.46%. The cost improvement in terms of time decreased from 130 minutes to 61 minutes, 53.08%.

China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) phase-I project currently uses a Penning surface plasma H− ion source, which has a life time of several weeks with occasional sparks between high voltage electrodes. To extend the life time of the ion source and prepare for the CSNS phase-II, we are trying to develop a RF negative hydrogen ion source with external antenna. The configuration of the source is similar to the DESY external antenna ion source and SNS ion source. However several changes are made to improve the stability and the life time. Firstly, Si3N4 ceramic with high thermal shock resistance, and high thermal conductivity is used for plasma chamber, which can endure an average power of 2000W. Secondly, the water-cooled antenna is brazed on the chamber to improve the energy efficiency. Thirdly, cesium is injected directly to the plasma chamber if necessary, to simplify the design of the converter and the extraction. Area of stainless steel exposed to plasma is minimized to reduce the sputtering and degassing. Instead Mo, Ta, and Pt coated materials are used to face the plasma, which makes the self-cleaning of the source possible.

Background The phase III RAISE trial (NCT01183780) demonstrated that the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor (VEGFR)-2 binding monoclonal antibody ramucirumab plus 5-fluororuracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) significantly improved overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared with placebo + FOLFIRI as second-line metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) treatment. To identify patients who benefit the most from VEGFR-2 blockade, the RAISE trial design included a prospective and comprehensive biomarker program that assessed the association of biomarkers with ramucirumab efficacy outcomes. Patients and methods Plasma and tumor tissue collection was mandatory. Overall, 1072 patients were randomized 1 : 1 to the addition of ramucirumab or placebo to FOLFIRI chemotherapy. Patients were then randomized 1 : 2, for the biomarker program, to marker exploratory (ME) and marker confirmatory (MC) groups. Analyses were carried out using exploratory assays to assess the correlations of baseline marker levels [VEGF-C, VEGF-D, sVEGFR-1, sVEGFR-2, sVEGFR-3 (plasma), and VEGFR-2 (tumor tissue)] with clinical outcomes. Cox regression analyses were carried out for each candidate biomarker with stratification factor adjustment. Results Biomarker results were available from >80% (n = 894) of patients. Analysis of the ME subset determined a VEGF-D level of 115 pg/ml was appropriate for high/low subgroup analyses. Evaluation of the combined ME + MC populations found that the median OS in the ramucirumab + FOLFIRI arm compared with placebo + FOLFIRI showed an improvement of 2.4 months in the high VEGF-D subgroup [13.9 months (95% CI 12.5–15.6) versus 11.5 months (95% CI 10.1–12.4), respectively], and a decrease of 0.5 month in the low VEGF-D subgroup [12.6 months (95% CI 10.7–14.0) versus 13.1 months (95% CI 11.8–17.0), respectively]. PFS results were consistent with OS. No trends were evident with the other antiangiogenic candidate biomarkers. Conclusions The RAISE biomarker program identified VEGF-D as a potential predictive biomarker for ramucirumab efficacy in second-line mCRC. Development of an assay appropriate for testing in clinical practice is currently ongoing. Clinical trials registration NCT01183780.

The commissioning of CSNS front end has been finished. Above 15 mA beam intensity is obtained at the end of RFQ. For CSNS ion source, it is a type of penning surface plasma ion source, similar to ISIS ion source. To improve the operation stability and reduce spark rate, some modifications have been performed, including Penning field, extraction optics and post acceleration. PBGUNS is applied to optimize beam extraction. The co-extraction electrons are considered at PBGUNS simulation and various extracted structure are simulated aiming to make the beam through the extracted electrode without loss. The stability of ion source is improved further.